


this dream isn't feeling sweet

by petalgrown



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Twins, Coming of Age, Family Feels, Fix-It, Flame Lore (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), Gen, Multi, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reincarnation, Self-Indulgent, Self-Insert, Sibling Bonding, Team as Family, Twins, Worldbuilding, i have looked at canon and found it lacking so here we are, to a small degree
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:15:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 39,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23519824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/petalgrown/pseuds/petalgrown
Summary: The Sawada twins come of age with the weight of the mafia on their shoulders.(Or the story in which Tsuna has a twin brother. Some things change. Some things, like always, stay the same.)
Relationships: Kurokawa Hana & Original Character(s), Kurokawa Hana & Sasagawa Kyouko, Reborn & Sawada Tsunayoshi, Reborn (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!) & Original Character(s), Sawada Tsunayoshi & Original Character(s), Sawada Tsunayoshi & Vongola Tenth Generation Guardians, Vongola Tenth Generation & Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 97
Kudos: 397
Collections: A Collection of Beloved Inserts





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **EDIT May 15:** once again the kids are 13-14 and in their second year of middle school. that's all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just letting you know now that this fic is so unapologetically self-indulgent. i love khr to bits and pieces, but there are things i just wish were different, so we're tackling those. this fic mainly came from that want and also i have a personal itch for a tsuna _has a twin_ fic that i haven't been able to scratch just by reading, so here we are. a lot of points of divergence and whoever can keep track of them all from the get go, i'm so proud of you.
> 
> title taken from ribs by lorde because i maybe i want this fic to encompass how scary growing up is even if you don't have a magical mafia wanting things from you and something about the pure heroine album seems to Fit.

Teru's alarm goes off at six in the morning like it always does on the weekday—a birdcall song mixed with chiming music that he automatically shuts off in a feat of muscle memory to immediately quiet the noise. The sound is annoying, as alarms are supposed to be, but it gets the job done every day. He pulls himself from under the warmth of his covers with a yawn that leaves him lightheaded.

Six in the morning and awake like he always is despite going to bed past midnight. Sunlight casting the shared room in a soft glow blue-grey glow. Tsuna sleeping in the bed across from him, barely having stirred.

Teru inhales. Exhales. Doesn't feel exactly right in his body and knows today won't be a good day emotion wise; not exactly the worst but not the best and not even a neutral day either. At least today should go normally, it’s only Tuesday.

He can handle it though, has handled it before—knows that the best thing he can do is not focus too much on the creeping feeling; that’s why Teru has a daily routine and sticks to it as well as he can manage.

Quickly and quietly, he trades the clothes he slept in for a set comfortable enough to work out in and grabs his yoga mat from where it’s shoved underneath his bed. Years of doing so mean he manages all this moving around with the room light still off and barely a sound made even in his still half-asleep state. The only real noise that fills the room is Tsuna’s soft sleep snores and a few yawns Teru doesn’t have the strength to hold back.

Trudging downstairs greets him with a familiar sight of his mom already awake, head bent over the newspaper, and a cup of coffee next to her.

“Morning, Teru-kun.” She says without looking up, though when she does it’s with bright eyes and a soft smile. She’s been up for a while already. “How’d you sleep?”

Teru, returning her smile, walks over and gives her a soft kiss at her temple. “Morning, mama, and I slept fine. Were you gonna exercise with me?”

It’s a thing they do sometimes—morning stretches to catch each other up on what’s going on around them or just to hang out and enjoy the early morning quiet. Nana does something closer to yoga; Teru does the set of basic stretches that five years of gymnastics has drilled into his brain to help loosen up for the day. It’s nice.

Nana shakes her head. “Not today. Mama has to leave a bit earlier this morning, but breakfast will be done before you head out. Bentos are already made and coffee is timed and set to make enough for you and Tsu-kun.”

She lists everything off with a quick efficiency that still impresses, but doesn’t necessarily surprise Teru. Sawada Nana, after all, is a single mother in everything but legality and romantic availability. Setting up things at the start of a morning is easy work for her.

Still, though, Teru wishes she didn’t have to tackle raising twin boys alone, but knows better than to bring it up right now—or even that often at any rate. The conversations end up heated and one-sided. He shows his appreciation as much as he can even if it’s as simple as a one-armed hug before he sets off to do his morning exercises in the living room.

Teru turns the TV on and lets its stay on a morning cartoon designed to teach toddlers how to count with the aid of colorful characters and big numbers and bouncing songs. It all fades to background noise anyway as he goes about his routine. He’s on his final set of leg stretches by the time his mom leaves and a glance at his phone’s clock tells him he ran over by ten minutes.

At least he feels a bit more settled in his skin and even more so after showering and slipping on his school uniform. All that’s left is a persistent buzzing he feels right down to his bone marrow, but that’s always been a problem and a more manageable one at that.

“Tsu.” The thankless task of waking his brother up falls on him since mom isn’t around to double and triple check. She’s kinder about it than Teru is anyway. He goes right to shaking his brother’s shoulder after the first sign of stirring. “Tsu, wake up. Mama left early, so she isn’t here to drag your ass out of bed.”

He gets an annoyed grumble for all his trouble, and Teru knows he and Tsuna are both a set of mirrored stubborn that’s reflected in different ways. Unstoppable force versus immovable object and all that jazz.

Too bad Teru always has the upper hand of actually being awake and functionally cognizant by the time he has to stir Tsuna from the clutches of sleep and a warm bed, and sibling loyalty rears its head in the oddest of ways. Tsuna’s perpetually late, sure, but with no one else in the house, Teru feels morally obligated to get him there on time or something close to it lest mom looks at them both with motherly disappointment if the front office calls.

Not feeling too keen on playing the _shake until he wakes_ game with Tsuna because time is ticking and Teru doesn’t want to be later than necessary, he does the next best thing that comes to mind. With little warning (always with little warning concerning Tsuna because that gives him a chance to overthink and try to bail) Teru throws himself over his brother’s sleeping form. It’s a sudden riot of noise as Tsuna shrieks high enough to put most singers to shame and a mess of boyish limbs as one brother fails about and the other tries not to get too tangled in flinging covers.

Once they right themselves, they’re both a little breathless from the exertion, Tsuna looking vaguely annoyed and Teru’s face stretched in a grin. The covers are in a useless heap on the floor and pillows scattered on different sides of the bed.

“What was that for?” Tsuna grouches, more pout than actual frown on his face.

Teru resists the urge to roll his eyes; instead, he settles on retying the half ponytail he normally wears. “We have school, Tsu. Gotta make sure you get there on time.”

“Do I have to go today?” There’s a whine in his voice that Teru’s gotten good at ignoring.

“You ask that every day, but yeah.” Teru hops off the bed once his hair is fixed, placing his hands on his hips to throw his brother the sternest look he can muster. “If you aren’t down in thirty minutes, I’m leaving and you can explain to mama when the office calls her.”

Teru doesn’t bother waiting for a response, knows his brother well enough to know that Tsuna will reluctantly get ready. It always takes a bit of pushing for Tsuna to get motivated about much of anything these days. Concerning, to say the least, when Teru actually takes the time to think about what this means, but he’s got enough stubbornness in the form of productivity for the both of them to share.

He’s proven correct by the sound of crashing and stumbling that goes on upstairs indicating that Tsuna is moving about at the very least. Teru finishes off his breakfast and half his coffee by the time his brother takes a tumble down the stairs and rushes to the table to quickly inhale his food.

“Want coffee?” Teru asks from over the rim of his mug, not so subtly looking his brother over for any fresh bruises from the fall. “There’s enough for you still in the pot.”

Tsuna shakes his head, mid-bite of a piece of toast, chews, and swallows before explaining. “I feel super jittery already. Coffee’ll make it worse.”

Teru nods, completely understanding. Where Tsuna tends to forgo adding to the rabbit pace of his heart, Teru gladly accepts whatever adverse effects coffee always tends to have on his system whether that be shaking hands or frequent trips to the bathroom or apparently stunted growth as some of the teachers like to tell him.

They finish up relatively quickly after that, Teru pouring the extra coffee in a travel mug to have while they walk before they exit the house, locking everything that needs to be behind them. They should make it on time at this rate.

The brothers don’t walk together to school that often—similar as they are, but different enough that it’s near impossible to do everything together like people would expect from twins.

Teru likes to be on time if only for the fact that it keeps trouble down and if word got back to his coach, there’d be some sort of hell to pay. Not that he begrudges Tsuna for being late, wishes it wasn’t so damn common, sure, but he likes to think he knows Tsuna better than anyone—even their mom at times. Nearly fourteen years of existing in the same close interaction bubble with someone would do that to a person. 

Tsuna finds it easier to give up and let things happen as they happen, fulfilling people’s negative expectations of him.

Teru finds it easier to slip under the radar as much as possible by being average and unassuming as possible. A little hard to do when his brother has been the target for playground bullies since grade school, but that’s hardly Tsuna’s fault in the long run.

“You sure you don’t want coffee?” Teru breaks their silence; well Tsuna has already broken by yawning for the third time and they’re only halfway to the school. He’s going to fall asleep before the first period is over at this rate.

Tsuna sighs and decides to lean most of his weight on Teru in a pitiful and reluctant display while they walk. Teru doesn’t understand why he’s the one always being leaned since he’s the shorter of the two.

“Shouldn’t have stayed up so late playing video games.” It’s age-old advice, and Teru knows he won’t be listened to.

“You were up late too.” Tsuna whines. “How are you so awake?”

“One, I went to bed at least two hours earlier than you did. Two, I’m on my second cup of coffee so that helps immensely.” Even if the first cup hasn’t kicked in yet—knows he’s either going to crash or be wired by the time lunch rolls around. “And three, I’ve perfected the art of running on little sleep.”

“Sounds rough.” Tsuna sighs and finally straightens his posture. They’re still close though, elbows and knuckles knocking together as they walk, steps matching automatically. “I’d sleep for days if I could.”

“That’s called a coma, Tsu. You’d make mama worried.”

No verbal reply, just a small noise that Tsuna makes and shrugging shoulders. Teru bites the inside of his cheek hard enough to sting. Another sort of rehashed argument he knows better than to bring up at this point.

It’s going to be a normal day.

* * *

The Sawadas pass through the school gates before the first bell is set to ring; enough time that there are some students still milling about outside and others are also just entering.

They get looks; well, Tsuna gets looks, and Teru gets them by proxy. Expressions range from shocked to amused to outright mocking, and Teru can feel his brother shrink in on himself like he always does when the attention inevitably falls onto him.

At least some people are nice, he thinks when he catches sight of Sasagawa Kyoko and gets a soft smile and friendly wave in greeting. A dreamy sort of sigh at his side lets him know that Tsuna is aware of her as well.

“Kyoko-chan is so nice.” His twin whispers softly and near reverently.

Tsuna’s crush on the youngest Sasagawa sibling is a mix of cute, annoying, and downright basic depending on the day. But Teru can’t deny that Kyoko is nice in the way that most junior high students aren’t, so he can’t blame Tsuna for having one. He’d probably like her too if his interests didn’t lean in the other direction. 

“You ever gonna talk to her?” Teru asks, just to tease, letting his grin grow at his brother’s brightening face and flustered flails.

“I-I talk to her sometimes!”

“Squeaking out _good morning_ and _thank you_ when she hands back papers doesn’t actually count, but okay.”

“Don’t be mean Teru. I’m grateful just when she looks at me anyway.”

Response falls short behind his throat when he spots the familiar and unnecessarily looming figure of Mochida making his way up to them. Teru clicks his tongue in contrast to Tsuna's teeth clicking together when he shuts his mouth so fast.

“Well look at this.” Mochida slithers up with a grin just as slimy as his regular demeanor. “Two for one Sawada deal. That doesn’t happen very often.”

“Hello, Mochida. Goodbye, Mochida.” Teru grabs Tsuna by the sleeve in an attempt to speed walk them into the school but grows increasingly annoyed at finding them cut off by others that followed in the upperclassman’s wake.

“Don’t be rude. I just wanted to know what you were talking about; it seemed like a fun conversation.”

“N-nothing important.” Tsuna’s able to get out. “Uhm, we really should go before the bell rings and—”

“Zip it, No Good. I could have sworn I heard you mention Kyoko-chan.”

Teru rolls his eyes, finger tapping against his travel mug as his agitation mounts. He speaks over the sound of the first warning bell. “Sasagawa-san’s in our class. Of course we can talk about her.”

“Wrong! No one gave you or your No Good brother the right to look at her let alone talk about her or even talk _to_ her.”

There’s something instinctively gross Teru finds about Mochida’s obsession and possessiveness of Kyoko, and how he barely ever leaves Tsuna alone. Does he not have anything better to do? Captains of clubs should be a lot busier than this, right? But no—Mochida has had Tsuna on a weird radar since the twins entered junior high and Kyoko, besides. Bad luck for all of them all around.

They could form a club out of it, probably.

“I really should teach you two a lesson that actually sticks this time.”

Tsuna shrinks again, Teru straightens. Mochida bullies everyone he deems beneath him, but Tsuna always somehow gets the brunt of it. Teru has already lost count of how many times he’s come home to his brother icing bruises or has spotted a new set of plasters on new scrapes. The school year started in April, it’s only June. No one ever does anything, and he wants to scream.

He doesn’t though despite the buzzing in his ears and underneath his skin telling him to do so. He does the next best thing, no hesitation deeply ingrained. Teru grabs his brother’s hand tight and delivers a stomping kick to Mochida’s shin hard enough to send him immediately crouched down in pain but not enough to break.

Tsuna shrieks.

People yell.

The bell rings again.

Teru runs.

They definitely shouldn’t be running in the halls, not with the Disciplinary Committee in place at all times, but it’s the only option since Teru doesn’t know how vindictive Mochida will get. He shouldn’t be running on that leg anytime soon though, but better safe than sorry. At least Tsuna goes easily, as much as he can with his stumbling steps, but Teru’s used to that too, adjusting when necessary until they practically barrel into their classroom.

“Sawada Tsunayoshi, Sawada Yoshiteru!” The teacher’s voice is a whip-crack call to attention over the classwide snickering. “You are both late and entered disruptively. What do you have to say for yourselves?”

They’re barely late, but Teru knows better than to defend that point of argument and also knows the excuse of nearly getting into a fight won’t help anything either. It never does. Instead, he smiles, falsely sincere. The boys are mirrored in their bowed apologies.

This too is muscle memory.

* * *

“Heard your brother bailed after gym class.” Hana says from her seat right on top of Teru’s desk. She has a carton of banana milk in hand and taps away at her phone with the other.

Teru hums around a mouthful of his lunch. It’s old news. Tsuna had texted him while walking home. He can get his brother to school when he has to but doesn’t push too hard to make him stay especially since he had another run-in with Mochida during clean up.

“I really do feel bad for Sawada-kun.” Kyoko sighs. “I think Mochida-senpai is messing with him again.”

Hana scoffs. “Mochida always messes with him. It’s like his favorite pastime, I swear. That and badgering Kyoko. Bastard needs to get a new hobby because obviously kendo isn’t enough.”

“It is a little…” Kyoko trails off before sighing. “Onii-chan says he’s going to get involved if senpai doesn’t back off soon.”

 _“Let him.”_ Teru and Hana echo each other immediately in response.

“The last thing I want to do is get Onii-chan in trouble at school for fighting, especially for me.”

“That’s the perfect reason for getting in trouble if you're gonna fight on school grounds.” Teru says. He’s gotten into more than a few fights for Tsuna over the years. “Besides, it doesn’t have to be at the school anyway.”

“Exactly.” Hana agrees. “There’s literally nothing wrong with your brother beating that bastard up behind the conbini down the street. School rules don’t apply there.”

“Not a lot of things apply near a conbini anyway.” Teru shrugs. He and Tsuna have taken three in the morning trips to one and can firmly say universe rules don’t exactly work the same. Either that or it was the sleep deprivation finally kicking in.

Kyoko doesn’t say anything, just shakes her head. Must be the dislike of senseless violence warring with her growing annoyance at Mochida’s unwanted attention—apparently, the upperclassman has started a rumor that they’re dating. Teru got a play by play of her reaction when Hana texted him the news on Monday. 

“Alright, we’ll change the subject.” Hana states, finally putting her phone down. Teru doesn’t react when she swipes an apple slice from his bento. “How’s gymnastics treating you two? Got a meet soon I should know about?”

“Just a tiny one.” Kyoko answers. “It’s not even official, just friendly competition with the all-girls school in a couple of weeks.”

“I think the one with the all-boys school is either the day before or after.” Teru supplies, too lazy to open his phone calendar to double-check.

“You should sound more excited than that Teru-kun.” Kyoko admonishes lightly with no real heat. She addresses Hana, excitement creeping in her tone. “Teru-kun and I finally decided to start learning rhythmic seriously, so I’m excited to put that into action at the meet instead of just practice.”

Hana raises a pointed and perfect eyebrow. “Is that why you’ve been taking me ribbon shopping practically every weekend? You have, like, twenty; isn’t that enough?”

“Sensei says you can never have enough ribbons or props.” Kyoko practically pouts. “Better to be prepared instead of scrambling to find one when you need it. Right, Teru-kun?”

She isn’t wrong, that’s for sure. “Better to be over-prepared than underprepared.”

They both get an eye roll but it’s less disapproving and more exaggeratedly fond. Hana adores Kyoko to the moon and back; she isn’t going to complain about her best friend wanting to look cute and put together as much as possible during a meet. She’ll give Teru shit about it, but it’s never in that scathing way of hers when she gets really serious and mocking. She saves that treatment for those that deserve it—which is probably every other person she comes across.

Kyoko laughs regardless, barely affected—continues to defend her case. A common song and dance between the two, Teru finds himself relaxing while listening to it. The buzzing under his skin is still there though, the persistent ringing in his ears is now faded and gone.

Like he assured himself earlier: it’s a normal day.

* * *

Gymnastics practice ends at six in the evening like it always does, and Teru walks himself home for most of the way, having parted with Kyoko just a block into the trip. He considers homework and upcoming tests he has to study for as he goes, idly checking messages on his phone. All that’s there are cryptic texts from Tsuna—something about a new guest he doesn’t care for.

Weird if only for the fact that mom usually gives them a warning in case they have company that isn’t Chiyo-obaasan checking in on them every once in a while. Maybe the guest will be gone by the time dinner finishes since Tsuna doesn’t like them that much.

“I’m home!” Teru says when he enters, slipping off his shoes before making his way into the house proper.

He comes to the sight of his mom puttering in the kitchen preparing dinner still, something more elaborate than normal by the looks of it.

“Welcome home!” Nana returns, a bright smile on her face. “Dinner will be ready in half an hour. Go wash up okay, Tsu-kun’s upstairs with our guest.”

Stranger and stranger, Teru finds it. “Yeah, he told me we had company. What’s this all about?”

“Your papa hired a live-in tutor for your brother. A friend of his boss’ was more than happy to do so apparently.” She practically has sparkles in her eyes as she flits around the kitchen. “Isn’t that sweet of him? He really does want to see Tsu-kun succeed even if he’s so far away right now.”

Smells like bullshit Teru thinks but doesn’t say, couldn’t say, not when his mom looks so happy about this whole thing. It doesn’t help that Iemitsu hasn’t been home in over five years and he can count the number of times they've actually spoken since then on one hand. 

“I mean I was getting worried about Tsu-kun with his grades and his already slipping attendance. The office called again, you know? He skipped before half the day was even over, but thanks for getting him to school anyway.”

“No problem.” Teru shrugs, doesn’t particularly like talking about Tsuna behind his back. “I’m gonna clean up and stuff. Say hi to Tsu, meet the tutor.”

“Of course! Reborn-chan is such a polite young boy. I think you’ll like him.”

Teru blinks and shakes his head trying to parse together his mom’s words. Something about them is familiar and yet so strange just the same. The ringing in his ears starts up again; he decides not to question anything and instead sticks to making his way up the stairs.

There’s muffled yelling behind the room door that’s unmistakenly Tsuna, and a second childish voice he’s never heard before. The tutor maybe, but why would the old man hire a literal child to teach his son? Tsuna does badly at school, but a child genius or whatever will only add insult to injury and cause Tsuna to clam up much faster than an adult or even a college student would.

He opens the door, greeted with the sight of his brother scowling at a baby in a suit of all people. Said baby has a lizard on the brim of his hat and a serious looking gun in his tiny baby hands. The ringing in Teru’s ears gets louder to the point where voices are muffled similar to when Tsuna tries to talk while he buries his head underneath a pillow.

“Teru, you have to save me!” Tsuna pleads at the same time the baby speaks.

“Ciaossu. I’m the home tutor, Reborn.”

 _Reborn’s a hitman_ , Teru’s mind supplies and brooks no argument. He knows this as a fact, as a certainty so sure and sudden it makes his stomach roll and vision waver. 

This shouldn’t be happening, but it is.

( _Of course, it is._ )

Who is Teru trying to kid?

( _Himself, obviously, for years now._ )

The world he’s been born into ( _the role, this person, Teru himself_ ) should not exist.

What a terrible thought to have on a terribly normal day like today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact: the _yoshi_ in tsuna's and teru's names are written with different characters. tsuna's is written as _luck_ (if my research is correct) while teru's is written as _beautiful, lovely_. iemitsu wanted the same character; nana put her foot down about that. ALSO this fic starts during the summer of 2016; i have a for real calendar in gsheets that i will be looking at and writing plot points on because i also want to legitimately acknowledge a passage of time (shounen timelines are the absolute worst at try and make sense of, so expect things to move around and such), so no flip phones for these kids for better or worse. is this so they can have group chats??? maybe so.
> 
> ANYWAYS!!! thank you so much for reading this first chapter; please drop a comment if you're able to because i would really appreciate it!! everyone please stay safe and comfy and i will see you next time!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> seems like a speedy update time and it kind of is, but this chapter is very important so i wanted to kind of get it out there as quickly as reasonably possible. don't be fooled though, this was an absolute labor of love in which we get some glimpses of personal headcanons, a peak at dynamics, important conversations are had. let it be known that this chapter took an entirely different direction than what i originally had planned and i had to rewrite things multiple times before i was happy. 
> 
> all this to say that this chapter was very fun to write all things considered, so i hope you guys enjoy!! and thanks for the comments, kudos, bookmarks, and everything else i've recieved so far!!

It’s hard for Teru to focus on dinner when thoughts are hazy and incomprehensible; everything suddenly feeling off in a way he can’t quite explain. At least the others don’t seem to notice much—not when the attention is almost entirely on their new houseguest and Tsuna. Dinner table chatter is livelier if only for the fact that Nana asks question after question to the new tutor which is fine; it means that Teru doesn’t have to do his normal routine of filling in the stretched out silences that happen when Tsuna doesn’t want to answer certain questions and their mom fumbles at a conversation topic that will include both her sons. 

He can’t even keep track of what’s happening around him, not really, despite how good the food must be since his mom is a wonderful cook and of course she put a lot of effort into the meal, it doesn’t taste like anything to Teru and settles heavily on his stomach after each bite. None of this bodes well for his sleep tonight either.

“Teru-kun,” His mom calls and so much for being off the radar during dinner. “You’ve barely touched your food. Do you not like it? I can fix you something else if you want.”

He exhales, strains a smile on his face, and tries to ignore the weight of three different stares. Tries to ignore the part of his brain telling him that all of this shouldn’t be happening in the first place. 

“It’s good. I just...I just think I might have overdone it after practice with the snacks. Might’ve spoiled my appetite. ‘m not that hungry.”

Nana sighs and looks completely unsurprised which means the lie worked. Teru feels bad about it regardless. “Well, you are a growing boy. Can’t exactly fault you for that, but be more mindful. You can’t survive off trail mix and rice cakes every day.”

Teru nods, ignoring Tsuna’s whispered _oh he’ll try_ that would normally earn his twin a kick to the ankles _._ Instead, he wonders if he can be excused from the table since he isn’t getting much eating done or would it be rude to ask since they have a guest? Besides, Teru doesn’t particularly want to leave his brother alone to the wolves, or wolf rather. 

“Practice?” Reborn questions neatly, and there goes Teru’s escape plan and plan on keeping attention away from himself. 

“Teru-kun does gymnastics!” Is the chirped reply, pride in her voice evident like it always is when she mentions his extracurricular. “Won a few ribbons and trophies over the years too.”

“Not a big deal.” He tries to insist, but he knows this is something his mom always likes to gush about with new people. 

“Interesting.” Says ~~_thehitman_~~ the tutor with more intrigue than deserved. It doesn’t make Teru feel any better about the whole deal.

Tsuna, whether he does it on purpose or not, takes the attention away with a heavy sigh. “What does a baby care about gymnastics anyway?” 

“I’m your tutor, Tsunayoshi.” Which sounds ridiculous coming from a squeak toy of a voice no matter how anyone can spin it. “Of course I want to know what your brother does.”

Teru can’t see his brother rolling his eyes, but he can practically hear it in Tsuna’s voice. “That literally has nothing to do with tutoring me. And I don’t want you to tutor me in anything. I’m fine!”

“Tsu-kun,” Mom tries her best to placate, voice soft like it always is. “be kind. Reborn-chan flew all this way and is taking so much time out to help you.”

“Well, I didn’t ask him to.”

 _Great,_ Teru thinks glumly, stuck having to witness one of the many half arguments unfold between mom and his twin. They have been happening with increasing frequency—mom insisting one way and Tsuna insisting the other, rubbing against the grain. Teru caught in the outskirts but still wholly involved. 

It’s not that mom and Tsuna don’t get along either; she’s one of the rare few that stays firmly rooted in Tsuna’s corner no matter what people say or do or don’t do. Any adult’s comparisons of the twins—usually in the guise of praising Teru while simultaneously tearing down Tsuna—are never taken to heart. Nana knows her kids well, knows that Tsuna does try his best no matter what it looks like on the outside. She’s always the first to comfort him if the matter is beyond Teru’s scope or understanding.

Junior high is just rough in the strangest of ways—the bullies are bolder, the teacher’s don’t bat an eye, Tsuna curls in on himself more to protect his soft underbelly and softer feelings. Teru and Nana deal with the aftermath of all of this because someone has to and that’s what family does. If it means the occasional argument and stilted conversation to get Tsuna to uncurl then so be it. 

“No, your dad did.” Mom continues, probably not fully realizing that bringing Iemitsu up isn’t exactly going to help anything; by Tsuna’s frustrated sigh it probably made things worse. 

“I didn’t ask him to either!” The noise Tsuna makes is unidentifiable, but his tone is thick with something. 

Teru thinks he might understand it though, what it’s trying to encompass. The twins don’t have many positive things to think or say about their distant father. Tsuna, in particular, takes it the hardest, always a lot freer and deeper into his emotions. Teru thinks Tsuna was closer to Iemitsu too, in the days that the family had him. 

Tsuna leaves the table with a tense set to his shoulders and tight-lipped frown. Teru looks over to see his mom sigh before that too is quickly covered with apologies and gentle words about how _emotional Tsuna is right now because he’s had a long and not so great day, and really, it just happens sometimes. Give him time to cool off, won’t you Reborn-chan._

What Teru does next automatically doesn’t surprise himself, though it is a surprise he can think past his jumbled brain and ringing in his ears. Then again, it’s easier to push past any personal inconveniences when he has Tsuna focus on and look out for. 

“I’m gonna go check on him.” Teru stands, hovering a bit over their abandoned plates because leaving them would be rude too.

Mom waves him off with a strained smile and flap of her hand. “Thank you, Teru-kun. Mama will handle things over here. Shoo.” 

Teru shoos with little prompting after that and avoids making eye contact with Reborn’s black, black gaze as he escapes upstairs into the room. 

He only knocks on the door as a polite warning, easing his way in regardless. Tsuna’s in the middle of the floor, the table that normally acts a divide between their respective sides of the room is pushed out the way closer to the window so he has space to stare at the ceiling. Teru joins him so that they’re cheek to cheek with legs pointing in different directions. 

Teru lets the silence hang before he finally asks, “Wanna talk about it?”

“No.” The response is too quick and too waspish for Tsuna to mean the sting behind it. His brother sighs and tries again. “I guess, maybe. I don’t want a tutor.”

Teru keeps his eyes on the cracks in the ceiling, briefly thinks about how they’ll more than likely grow under Reborn’s tutelage and all the events that will follow after. It’s a scary thought. 

If he knew, as he does now, why didn’t he see this coming? Why now, when events are already in motion and there’s no way of changing what adults oceans away have already decided. He could have prepared better for this, could have prepared Tsuna better for this.

“But you need one.” The words feel a bit like betrayal despite being the truth.

Teru, too, tried to tutor Tsuna not that long ago. It didn’t pan out well, not officially, but he gives pointers whenever his brother has the rare steady focus to do his homework. 

“It won’t work though. Nothing ever does; it’ll be a waste of time.”

“Nothing that helps you is a waste.” This is not the first time Teru has said these words or something close to them. It won’t be the last. “You know that, right?”

“It is.” Tsuna insists, stubborn as he always is. “It is when you’re No Good as I am. Nothing sticks, nothing works. It’ll be useless.”

He hates when Tsuna gets like this, says things like this, and believes them to be true because when has the majority ever shown him differently? Encouraging words from adults and peers tapered off sooner than any of them remember replaced by cruel nicknames and crueler bullying and disappointed sighs.

It hurts Tsuna in a way he’s too stubborn to admit—as normal as the treatment has been for him for so long, maybe he doesn’t actually see anything wrong with it. It’s not a subject matter Teru feels ready to poke and prod at; maybe he’s afraid. 

“You won’t know unless you try.”

“I’m tired of trying and failing at new things. I’m fine where I am. Besides, it’s more than just tutoring that baby wants me to do apparently.”

“Really?” Teru asks even though he knows, he _knows_ , _heknows_. Chooses not to point out the topic change since it happens to be a smooth one—a rare feat. “What else could a kid genius want from you?”

Tsuna laughs; there’s no humor behind it. Teru can feel him shaking his head, wayward strands of hair tickling his cheek. “You won’t believe me. I don’t think I believe it either.”

“Tell me anyway.” It might do them both some good to hear it. “We share a room, so I’m gonna learn about it sooner rather than later.”

“He wants me to be a mafia boss of all things. It’s so-” Tsuna heaves a loud sigh, annoyed and exasperated all in one. He’ll sigh all the breath out of his body at this rate. “It’s so ridiculous! It feels like a great big prank but also it doesn’t. But it has to be, right?” 

Of course, Teru wants to say, wants to believe that in this moment. An elaborate prank would be easier to deal with, considering what he knows—what he thinks he knows because ink and paper are so, so different from real life. A story for entertaining teens is what he has the barest bones memory of; an actual brother with a beating heart and a wellspring of emotions is what Teru grew up thirteen years and then some alongside. 

The story that has unfolded and the one that will unfold are not two things he can compare, can’t think to compare.

“I mean,” Teru starts his response, surprised that his voice doesn’t waver. “when I walked in, he had a gun. Seemed pretty real to me. Plus he’s a friend of dad’s, yeah? Or a friend of dad’s boss. That’s not something you just lie about.”

“Who makes friend’s with a baby anyway? Sounds suspect.” Tsuna grumbles, focused on the wrong thing amidst all that information, but Teru can’t begrudge him for it. He suddenly has a lot more to focus on now after all. 

“Dad, apparently.” Teru shrugs and rolls and lifts himself so he’s hovering over Tsuna, arms holding up his weight. “I know I said try the tutoring thing out, but no matter what happens you know I got your back, right?”

Tsuna doesn’t immediately respond, just wrinkles his nose a little before pushing his brother’s face to the side with the flat of his palm. Ingrained instincts and wariness from twin based antics, probably.

“I know.” He eventually says, sounds a touch fondly exaggerated. “It’s like what mom says. I just have to hold onto what makes me think _it’s great to be alive_.” 

* * *

**Hana:** what do you mean there’s a baby in your house?????  
 **Kyoko:** i didn’t know sawada-obasan was pregnant!!! congrats on the new baby sibling!!!!  
 **Teru** : NO!!!!  
 **Teru:** dad hasn’t been around in years but apparently he told a baby to be tsuna’s tutor or something  
 **Teru:** now he lives with us  
 **Hana:** sounds fake  
 **Kyoko:** hana-chan is right that does sound fake  
 **Teru:** fucking unbelievable i know!!  
 **Teru:** come by tomorrow morning and see him  
 **Hana:** i have debate club in the morning and you know i hate babies on sight  
 **Hana:** kyoko take some pics for evidence  
 **Kyoko:** roger!! (｀･ω･´)ゞ

“Sawada Yoshiteru,” Says a familiar voice so suddenly that Teru is startled enough to drop his phone on his face with an embarrassing shout of surprise.

A glance to the side shows that Reborn is standing on his bed; Teru, lying on his back with his legs stretched flat against the wall, realizes this isn’t the best way to have a conversation. Regardless, he doesn’t want to exactly move, doesn’t want Reborn to know how uncomfortable the sudden appearance makes Teru outside of being initially startled. 

He can play it calmly better than Tsuna can, at least. “Yep, that’s me.” 

“Sawada Yoshiteru,” Reborn repeats and Teru has a feeling this is going to be an intimidation tactic. “Height 152 centimeters, 50 kilograms, blood type O. Grades are B across the board sans a C in science and an A in gym." 

Teru puts his phone to sleep and tucks in his pockets as best he can and shoots Reborn a look that takes more courage than he feels he has at the moment.

"What do my grades have to do with tutoring Tsuna?”

"Absolutely nothing.” Reborn says dismissively enough that Teru doesn’t know if he should actually feel insulted or not. “You aren't my priority after all, but you are Tsunayoshi's twin. It would have been careless of me not to compile information on you as well."

“Uh-huh, Tsuna said you want him to be a mafia boss.” Might as well cut to the chase. “Where does that leave me exactly?”

"Not the one I'm training to be a mafia boss, of course."

Teru doesn’t hide the eye roll, doesn’t care how it makes him look. “Of course, but you don’t really expect me to...what? Just let all this slide and pretend it’s normal?”

“That would be a waste of potential for both yourself and Tsunayoshi. As a result of him coming from a civilian background, your brother will need all the help he can get.” Of course, he’d try to get some use out of Teru regardless. 

Reborn is lucky that Teru cares so much.

“You don’t have to convince me to help my brother, you know.”

“You’ll be surprised what can happen between siblings when one has what the other doesn’t.” Spoken in a way that sounds much older than all of Reborn’s perceived years. There’s definitely a story behind that, and Teru wants to know it against his better judgment. He’s always had an interest in histories, causes and effects. 

“Was that common sense speaking or experience?”

“You, Yoshiteru, are forty years too young to be asking questions about my life.”

A fair answer and partially what Teru expected anyway. Reborn doesn’t seem like the type to be forthright with any sort of personal information. Teru will learn what happened eventually if there’s a story to be told. He has a knack for learning things, after all.

* * *

Teru’s alarm for the next morning goes off the same time Reborn gives Tsuna the first of many rude awakenings. He has half the mind to ignore the commotion and sleep in but decides that going against his routine won’t help him in the slightest. Though he supposes he should mentally prepare for abrupt changes that will more than likely follow in Reborn’s wake. 

He wonders if he should give his coach a heads up about it. 

“We’re going on a morning jog.” Reborn informs over Tsuna’s offended grumbles and Teru’s half-asleep thoughts. “You should join us.”

It’s much too early for anyone to be this awake and this loud, Teru doesn’t say, but he feels his annoyance quickly increase. The first ten minutes after waking up are always the roughest, making Teru quicker to bite than usual. 

“I do morning stretches.” He says by way of answer, exiting the room so he can change in peace. 

Sharing a room with Reborn feels like a little much, makes the space feel all the more cramped since the twins already have to squeeze in there together so a guest bedroom is always free and Nana’s office takes up the other spare room upstairs. Teru doesn’t mind sharing with Tsuna outside the fact that his brother can get obscenely messy at times, but it’s not anything that Teru doesn’t know how to work around. 

What’s annoying is that privacy has gone from slim to zero with a new addition; respected divides in the room are eventually going to get blurred. Teru foresees himself having to sequester away in his mom’s room more often—usually the last resort when it comes to looking for privacy. 

Reborn hasn’t even been around for a full twenty-four hours and everything has gone completely one-eighty since his arrival.

Stretching helps Teru come back to himself in the way it always does—an easy point of focus against the world around him so his wild thoughts settle and set. Teru doesn't even completely register the fact that Tsuna and Reborn have left until he makes his way back up the stairs to find the room empty, messier, but empty just the same. It's a lively rush of excitement when they do get back though, Tsuna making the most fuss from the excursion as he gets ready for school. 

Nana seems to be the only one entirely pleased with the turn of events, no matter how strange they are. She compliments Reborn’s job of getting Tsuna out of bed so early and how well tutor and son seem to be getting along while she makes their lunches for the day. Both twins end up out of the house at a reasonable time, sent off with cheek kisses and a small wave.

While they walk, Tsuna keeps up a tense and awkward silence until he can’t anymore, practically pressed against Teru’s side as if siphoning moral support and extra courage. 

“Do you have to follow us? I thought kids went to daycare or something this early.” Tsuna questions—a valid one if Reborn was a normal kid; his brother still seems to be living in some sort of state of denial. 

“Hitmen don’t go to school.” Is Reborn’s easy reply. 

Every word out of his mouth about being a hitman is ridiculous, no wonder people have a hard time not seeing him as a well-articulated toddler. If Teru didn’t have a better inkling he’d probably be doing mental gymnastics trying to make sense of a baby being a tutor let alone a hitman. 

Whatever reply Tsuna gets ready to voice is cut off with a choked sort of noise at the appearance of Kyoko just down the way. Heaven sent angel as she always is, Kyoko gives them a friendly wave and skips over to the group when she catches sight of them.

“Good morning Sawada-kun! Teru-kun!” She greets with a bright smile before crouching down to Reborn’s height. “And good morning to you too. Why are you wearing a suit?”

“Ciaossu,” Something in his voice sounds a little too pleased with the turn of events. “I’m in the mafia.”

“Really?” Kyoko, bless her, does not even bat an eyelash at the words and continues to gush. “You’re so cute! Do you mind if I take a picture?”

“Make sure you get my good side.”

Teru watches as Kyoko takes out her phone and hears the shutter click of the camera going off a few times. Reborn must be very photogenic. Then again, a lot of people think kids are cute. His phone vibrates in his pockets by the time she stands and straightens; Hana’s request is promptly completed. 

“Thank you so much!” She says and more than likely does mean it. To the twins, she turns and gives a bright smile their way. Teru is unphased. Tsuna might as well be a puddle in the form of a teen boy beside him. “I’ll see you guys at school!”

Kyoko is gone as quickly as she appeared, a silence settling like falling petals in her wake. His brother is still dazed by her honey warmed presence. Teru, halfway immune to Kyoko’s grace and charm from exposure, just wants to continue to school. 

“If you have a crush on that girl, you should tell her.” Well, Reborn would continue their delay like this.

Tsuna plays easily into whatever game is being played, cheeks red despite how stubborn he’s being right now.“Yeah right, Kyoko-chan’s the school idol. She’s way out of my league.”

“She seems to be on friendly terms with your brother though.”

“Okay let’s not get any bright ideas there.” Teru is going to immediately nip that in the bud. He shoots Reborn a look, not sure what bringing that up is supposed to accomplish. Is it supposed to inspire Tsuna to try harder or question why one brother can handle something the other has issues with? Either way, it rubs Teru wrong like sandpaper against his skin. “Kyoko-chan and I are in the gymnastics club together. Have been since grade school, pretty much. We’re only friends.”

Reborn stares. Teru wonders if he blinks since he hasn’t seen it happen yet. “I see. Still, Tsunayoshi, you need to get over the loser complex of yours. You’ll face tougher things in life than asking a girl out.”

Tsuna shoves his hands in his pockets, curls in on himself a little. A defense mechanism more than anything. “Just leave it alone. It’s not a big deal.”

Teru watches as Reborn’s lizard shifts into a gun in a motion so fluid it shouldn’t be possible. He knows what’s going to happen next. It doesn’t make him feel any better about knowing

“Then I guess it’s finally time that you died.” Said too simply, too calmly. 

( _How can anyone doubt the fact that those hands have held a weapon before, have fired a gun?_ )

“Hey…” Tsuna’s voice is a wavering and wary thing now. Teru doesn’t blame him. He wants to take his brother and run far away now. “That’s not cute even if it is a toy. You shouldn’t wave things like that around. If you’re going to help me, why would you kill me?”

“You’ll see after you die.” Spoken like a finality, a nail in the coffin.

Teru knew this would happen, that this _has to_ happen. And yet, nothing still could have prepared him from the reality of this moment. 

The bang of a gun.

The splatter of blood. 

The sound of a body hitting the earth.

It shocks Teru still—panic a frantic bird in his heart, a coiling and heavy silence that settles like a funeral shroud. A ringing in his ears so loud it has to be from the after-effects of the pulled trigger. 

“What the fuck.” He finds himself snapping automatically—feels his teeth clench and nails dig deep into the palms of hands. In this moment, he thinks he hates Reborn the most out of anyone. Hates how he usurped their lifestyle. Hates how calmly he stands there like it’s normal to shoot a kid in morning daylight. 

Teru isn’t deigned worthy of any sort of response, but the movement coming from Tsuna takes that attention away. His brother rises, a steady flame resting on his forehead, most of his clothes gone, and a single set of determination in his gaze. 

“Tell Sasagawa Kyoko how I feel with my dying will!” Tsuna growl-shouts in a voice that is his but is so unlike his at the same time before he runs off at speeds unmatched. 

“That is the result of the Dying Will Bullet.” Reborn says more amused than Teru’s seen him yet. It’s annoying. “You might as well get used to it Yoshiteru. It’ll be an important component of your brother’s training to be a mafia boss.”

 _Bullshit_ , Teru wants to say just to be contrary, to let the residue coiling anger and fear out on the direct cause for it. He doesn’t though because he knows, knows it better than Reborn might assume. 

Still, though, he doesn’t have to like it. 

He doesn’t have to like any of it, but it’s still something he now has to live with. That he and Tsuna both have to live with. 

There are some things, some events in life, that cannot be stopped or undone, and theirs is already set in motion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can you believe i wanted to reach the aftermath of mochida's fight in this chapter? i got to writing the dinner conversation and i realized i was fool but hey!! it was fun!! sorry if things seem like they're dragging, gotta get a decent foundation before we kick it off with more characters to juggle! i am projecting cameos in the next chapter at the very least, who knows!!!
> 
> fun fact: teru's shorthand is 44, and he's actually the youngest born 20 minutes after tsuna. also, i moved the calendar of events around a bit so reborn is here a week or so earlier than canon. this is due to plot things i want to work with and also reasonably squeeze gokudera into the same month since you can't tell me that child got to japan from italy in just a few days. i'm sure he had to sort out some things plus reborn had to find and contact him before all this anyway. like i said, shounen timelines are one of the banes of my existence.
> 
> thanks so much for reading!!! i hope you enjoyed it!
> 
>  **p.s.** i have entertained the idea of shipping and possible ships; there's nothing set in stone concrete if they even become a thing since i don't like planning that far ahead without seeing how dynamics will pan out. i don't even have the entire daily life arc planned ahead outside of canon plot points + some extra stuff i need to cover in that window (it is a very long window i have realized so there is that). so if a particular dynamic catches your eye feel free to talk to me about it in the future; it's not a promise as much as sometimes outsider pov can sometimes catch things that authors don't even pick up on. it's kinda neat but that's a whole college paper-esque topic.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter is longer than i anticipated but also i'm not surprised.

By the time lunch rolls around, the classroom is a flurry of gossip, different accounts of the same event replayed through different lips. Teru had only arrived in time to see the tail end aftermath—Tsuna red-faced with mortification and Hana hovering protectively over Kyoko and Mochida seething with a fist clenched and knuckles white. He knows what happens anyway; even if he didn’t, he can easily piece together the events through all the talking going on.

The turn of the event makes Teru feel bad for his twin who hasn’t shown his face in class all day, but at least he’s still on school grounds. Teru is worried though; this is a different sort of attention that Tsuna isn’t exactly used to.

 **Teru:** where are you  
 **Tsu:** dying   
**Tsu:** that demon baby killed me you saw it  
 **Teru:** that was actually kind of scary to see  
 **Teru:** you ok  
 **Tsu:** i can’t show my face to anyone  
 **Teru:** nurse’s office??? want me to bring your lunch  
 **Tsu:** please?  
 **Teru:** be there soon  
 **Teru:** you owe me a soda on the way home though

After shoving his phone in his pocket, Teru looks up, startling slightly when he sees Hana glaring over at him.

“We need to talk about your brother.” She says, her arms crossed over her chest and expression serious—a warrior goddess reborn within the school walls. “Teru, he’s an actual pervert. You need to tell him to cut that shit out.”

Teru sighs and the thing is, he completely gets where Hana is coming from and knows that she would practically rend flesh and bone where Kyoko is concerned. No wonder she’s angrily vicious today, the brunt of the attention having settled mainly on Kyoko as Tsuna hasn’t graced the confines of the classroom yet. School darling that she is, Kyoko is mentioned in every conversation and probably the ones outside their class as well.

He wants to tell her, tell them both actually because lying to them is more hassle than it’s worth. If this is only the first event and Hana already has her suspicions and prodding at the ready, then Teru can’t imagine how stubborn she’ll get as things progressively get weirder. 

Can he tell anyone though? Teru might be involved through the simple exposure of being Tsuna’s brother, but while it’s his secret to keep, it probably isn’t his secret to share. It’s all shady business when everything is boiled down to the dregs and such practices do covet their secrets closer than the greatest treasures. It’s a lot to consider, and Teru decides he should probably talk to Reborn about it sooner rather than later if he wants to make it through this year without extra stress.

Teru can’t even think of a good enough lie to defend his brother—not from Hana, not right now. “Where’s Kyoko?”

Hana doesn’t call him out on changing the topic; that’s a win at least even if she does roll her eyes. “Told her to eat with Ryohei in his clubroom while I handle damage control in the classroom. So, where’s the pervert?”

“Don’t call him that.” He mutters automatically, gathering his and Tsuna’s lunches. “He had a bad fall down the stairs this morning and it’s acting up now. I’m gonna eat lunch with him.” It’s a good enough lie for why Tsuna isn’t around right now, and Tsuna did fall down the stairs this morning like he does every morning, but his aches and pains aren’t caused by that.

She backs off then, a small flicker of sympathy passing over her face before it quickly vanishes like a passing cloud. Hana thinks Tsuna’s terrible clumsiness is more medical than anything since he doesn’t seem like he can control it on the best of days; Teru doesn’t blame her. At least she’s one of the rare few that doesn’t sling the schoolyard nickname around. Though Teru was the one that had to shutdown her use of it back when they first met.

“We’re talking after school.” A final demand, not any sort of request—she scoots out the way so Teru can slip by her.

Teru ignores his classmates’ calls and their flinging questions as he goes. Getting to where he needs to be doesn’t take long, knowing where the nurse is by heart already. If Tsuna doesn’t immediately go home when skipping classes, he’s usually in there especially when he gets hurt by some bully or another and has a bruise to ice.

“Yoshiteru-kun, hello!” Nurse Fuyuki greets him as soon as he enters, her smile making the laugh lines around her mouth stand out.

Teru likes her if only because she’s probably the only adult in the school that actually worries about Tsuna. Apparently, she’s never had a student visit her office so much in such a short span of time since she started working at schools.

“Apparently, Tsunayoshi-kun had a rough morning.” She continues, tutting her tongue softly. “He’s not talking to me about it, so I’m glad you’re here. He’s in the back corner; you know where.”

He holds back a sigh, knowing exactly where his brother’s preferred place is. Out of sight of everyone that walks through the door. “Thanks, sensei. If Tsuna decides to stay, I’ll try to bring his work between classes so he has something to do.”

Nurse Fuyuki nods, pleased; Teru’s a frequent visitor here as well if only to ferry worksheets and gather his brother when needed.

At the back corner of the room, Teru pokes at Tsuna’s legs so he knows to move them out the way which Tsuna does all while grumbling about pains the entire time. The twins share the space of the small cot, sitting cross-legged in front of each other once limbs are properly arranged. Teru doesn’t start the conversation until they’ve had a few minutes to eat.

“So, you okay?”

Perhaps a bit redundant to ask, but Tsuna’s more vocal about his feelings than people expect or bother learning for that matter. He’d rather verbally vent half the time than do it while texting—something about how often his phone slips out his hands or how bad his spelling gets if he has to type for too long.

“That baby shot me with a real bullet, Teru!” Tsuna hisses, voice pitched low so the nurse and another student that came in won’t overhear anything. “It came out of my nose!”

Teru pulls a face, deciding they can unpack that later when Reborn is visibly around so proper questions can be asked; Teru has a feeling that the hitman is somewhere near, maybe in the vents? He’s small enough, that’s for sure.

“Gross. You also screamed about confessing to Kyoko, how’d that go?”

Tsuna looks practically mortified as if he’ll just die right at this moment. “Kyoko-chan ran away screaming and Mochida punched me in the face.”

There’s no bruise that Teru can see; that’s one good thing at the very least. It means mom won’t ask questions again or get that upset look on her face.

“The class has a new set of nicknames for you.” Might as well prepare him for it. “Hana called you a pervert too; you’ll be lucky if she doesn’t immediately request your blood as payment when she sees you next.”

Tsuna gulps loudly, Hana has always frightened him, good preservation instincts. He pokes harshly at the remainders of his poor lunch and sighs. “I remember what happened, but it all feels like a dream anyway.”

“We’ll talk to Reborn about it after school, yeah? Though I promised Hana I’d talk to her too, so I might be a bit late getting home.”

“Like she’d believe you about a baby and a magic bullet.”

Teru sighs because he knows. Hana works strictly in the realm of logic; it’s one of the reasons she excels in science and math and can’t seem to stand their literature class even if she still gets a high grade—too much is up for interpretation that way.

“I’ll think of something.” Even if Hana might be able to sniff out the lie in the same way a wolf can hunt prey—just as terrifying at times too, but it wouldn’t be the first time he’s pleaded Tsuna’s case to her or anyone. Teru can handle it.

* * *

“So,” Hana starts once they’re all nice and settled after school has ended. “what’s the deal with your brother?”

The current setting would feel more akin to an interrogation scene if they weren’t seated at a fast food place, a shared pile of fries stacked in the middle of the table to make for easy reaching and respective carbonated drinks right next to them. Hana makes it work to an extent, wielding a fry as if it were a weapon rather than a piece of food before shoving it in her mouth like it’s what has her so offended today.

“You know I don’t care about whatever he does, but today felt really out of character. Everyone knows he has a crush on Kyoko; she’s the darling school idol, after all.” Hana rolls her eyes, having never been a fan of the pedestal people put her friend on. She says it gets a lot of weird ideas in their heads, case in point: Mochida. “But him ever confessing it while practically naked? He lose a bet or something?”

“It was really surprising.” Kyoko pipes up, taking a sip of her soda—something artificially strawberry sweet—before continuing. “I couldn’t even properly reject him because I got really surprised by the whole thing. He deserved that much, I think. It must have taken him a lot of courage.”

Well, her answer isn’t really surprising. Teru isn’t going to be the one to break the news to his brother though; Kyoko can handle that or let sleeping dogs lie and all that jazz. Tsuna won’t even push for an answer, bad enough that a confession was ripped out of him in such a way.

“You know how we have a live-in tutor, yeah?” The girls nod. Teru eats a few fries and continues, flicking stray salt off his fingertips. “He’s actually some sort of life coach too and one of his exercises will require Tsuna to just go out and do things he wouldn’t normally do. Try to build confidence and all that.”

It’s about as close to the truth as Teru can make it, and in part, it’s not even really a lie. A lie by omission maybe, but hopefully it should be believable enough for now.

Hana doesn’t look extremely convinced despite it. “You mean that baby Kyoko took a picture of this morning?”

“He said he was in the mafia.” Kyoko adds, unhelpful at this moment.

“He’s the tutor.” Teru cuts in when he notes the look on Hana’s face at the word _mafia_. “A child genius that my dad hired, sure, but still a kid.”

Teru knows Reborn isn’t a normal kid, not even a kid to begin with, but for the life of him he can’t remember why, but he knows that he _knows_. He blames the transitory nature of memories; it’s the best reason that he can think of. It’s not as if it’s the first thing he cares about anyway.

Hana huffs, leaning so her back is pressed against the booth. Teru feels her foot knock against his shin when she moves. “He really went all out with that exercise, huh?”

Teru thinks about guns and bullets and a body’s dull thud on the concrete.

He shrugs. “It was a very persuasive argument. Tsuna didn’t stand a chance.”

* * *

Reborn doesn’t want to talk until after dinner and a tutoring session with Tsuna that involved lots of screaming while they went over the handed out homework. Teru ended up doing most of his in the living room and headed back inside the room once everything had quieted down. Though he does wonder if Reborn would go over his work too if he stuck around, something to look into at a later date.

Now they sit on the floor, the twins close enough that their elbows brush and Reborn across from them.

“Since Tsunayoshi has experienced the Dying Will Bullet, it is time I tell you both the full reason why I’m here.” Reborn starts them off.

Teru feels an anxious buzzing under his skin. He doesn't care for the feeling. 

“Something about the mafia, right?” Tsuna questions, though a touch wary. “You mean that wasn’t a joke?”

“I would never joke about something as serious as this. But yes, I was contracted by Nono Vongola to train Tsunayoshi into the next heir. He is getting old and wishes to pass the status onto the tenth generation soon.”

Hearing such words leave Reborn’s mouth is still strange, uncanny in a way that shouldn’t be possible but of course it is. Maybe it’s the absurdity of it all; the fact that such a dangerous topic is coming from the mouth of a toddler even if the person in question isn’t one to begin with. 

“If this guy’s so old, why doesn’t he have any of his own kids?” Tsuna’s question is a valid one even if his tone makes it sound like a question born out of a stubborn complaint. It probably is, knowing Tsuna, but Teru will give him this one.

Reborn spreads three pictures between them, Teru’s eyes flicker across the images and he wishes that they didn’t; by Tsuna’s alarmed noise and the fact that he presses tighter to Teru’s side means he must have gotten an eyeful too. A pile of bones half exhumed from the earth, a body faced down in a lake, and another covered by a sheet with blood pooled around it.

They speak for themselves.

“He did, but all are either dead or unable to take up the title. Federico, Massimo, and Enrico in that order.” Reborn explains, and Teru wonders how it must feel to lose three children in succession and in such terrible ways.

“So what?” Tsuna’s voice is pitched fearful; the grip he has on Teru’s shirt hem grows tighter. “I’m the last resort? That doesn’t explain why it has to be me.”

“The Vongola relies heavily on blood ties,” A simple fact and Reborn delivers it as such as if he’s talking about the weather rather than the structure of mafia families. “and as it stands, you have the blood of Primo in you, no matter how diluted.”

The piece of information is enough to relax Tsuna’s shoulders and loosen his grip. Really, who expects to be related to someone famous, infamous rather? “The who?”

“The founder of the Vongola, Giotto.” Reborn pulls out a family tree with missing gaps and seems sloppily put together all things considered. Teru spots his and Tsuna’s names right at the bottom. “The Vongola was just recently able to properly trace his roots and discovered he settled here in Namimori nearly two hundred years ago under the name Sawada Ieyasu.”

Teru perks up for the first time since the conversation started. Ieyasu is a familiar name, not the way that Giotto is familiar—something more solid rather than a far off maybe of a dream.

“Oh him. Yeah, we’ve heard of him.”

Reborn’s eyes glint with something that Teru doesn’t think he likes, too much focus and interest. “Really now? What do you know?”

“I mean it’s like you said, the Sawada family was established about two hundred years ago, give or take.” Teru starts the explanation off with a shrug; he’s known this since forever ago practically. “Namimori’s way older than that though. Ieyasu showed up and established a few new things with the help of the Hibaris and the Asaris. I think you’ll see some overlap with the Sawada and Asari _koseki_ , but can’t remember off the top of my head who married who to make that happen.”

“Teru’s a history nerd.” Tsuna practically sings.

Teru half-heartedly glares at his twin; it isn’t often that he goes on tangents about things, even less so about their family history. He actually showed pretty good restraint this time around. “No, Teru just pays attention when Chiyo-obaasan talks to us, unlike some people.”

“I do so pay attention to her! I can’t help that the history stuff bores me and I forget it!”

“It’s interesting stuff, Tsu!” Teru defends, not the first time they’ve had an almost argument about this. “I can’t believe you just—”

The mounting argument is cut off by the sound of a gunshot; Tsuna screams and Teru feels his heart jump right out of his chest at the suddenness of it all. Reborn holds a Leon-formed gun and looks none too pleased by their antics.

“If you’re done bickering, can I continue?” No wonder he can manage as a tutor with a voice as serious as that even if he doesn’t reach most people’s knees.

“Sorry Reborn.” The twins echo at different degrees, easily cowed.

Leon transforms back in a soft shimmer of light. Reborn continues like they never interrupted him in the first place. “It makes sense that you only knew Primo by his Japanese name. He wanted to distance himself from the mafia after he left.”

“Well, I wanna distance myself from the mafia too!” Tsuna immediately jumps in and cuts off. “Besides, why can’t Teru do it?”

Teru whips around so fast he swears he hears something in his back pop, but that’s background noise as he’s only filled with the instinct to punch his brother in retaliation. “What the hell, Tsuna?” So he does so on Tsuna’s arm, not hard enough to bruise, but his offense does shine through. “Way to throw me under the bus! Are you gonna back up and run me over a second time too?”

“C’mon Teru!” Tsuna insists, mouth pinched into a frown and rubbing at his arm. “You’re popular and athletic and people don’t make fun of you every day. You’d be much better suited to be the boss if we’re going by who’s related to who.”

“Yoshiteru is the second born for starters.” Reborn cuts, good because Teru felt another argument coming on. “There is another reason, but that isn’t something you two have to worry about.”

“That’s not ominous at all, actually.” Teru can’t help but say—wonders why it’s a secret even if it’s about him.

“You should reconsider this whole thing then because I’m not becoming a mafia boss.” Teru wonders how often he’ll have to hear his brother repeat these words and something similar.

“Let’s put it this way, Tsunayoshi.” Teru thinks Reborn too, might be tired of repeating himself in response to Tsuna’s stubborn insistence. “This is a job and you are not my first student. As it stands, I have never backed out of any of my contracts early.”

Tsuna leans himself close to Teru again, pitching his voice whisper-low. “Why did that sound like a threat?”

“Well,” Teru shrugs, mimicking his brother’s tone. “he is a hitman.”

“At least one of you is catching on quickly.” Said hitman breaks into the conversation sounding amused. “There might be hope for you yet.”

Teru decides, very quickly and easily, that he doesn’t like the sound of that.

* * *

Sleep doesn’t come easy that night for some reason or another—strange given how fine Teru slept the night before even if he woke up the following morning feeling out of sorts. He’s had a lot of mornings in a row like that recently; he’s blaming Reborn, the harbinger of subtle memories and thoughts, enough confusion in his head that Teru isn’t sure what to believe as a dream or what to believe as real.

That night sleep takes him in fits and starts, never lasting long enough to feel like any time has passed at all, but a glance at his phone set to dim tell him just the sequence—12:18 AM, 1:03 AM, 1:45 AM, 2:36 AM, 3:02 AM. It’s a lost cause all in all, but Teru decides to try something anyway because he hates going through a day groggy and quicker to snap because of it.

He makes his way down to the kitchen with quiet and careful steps, not that it matters, Tsuna’s a heavy sleeper anyway. Teru sets water to boil for tea. They always have loose leaves of chamomile tucked away in the cupboard next to the coffee.

“What are you doing awake at this hour?”

Says a sudden voice that shatters the quiet of the kitchen, unexpected enough to startle Teru into nearly dropping the mug he grabbed to set aside. He blinks blearily, not completely surprised to see that it’s Reborn clad in a set of polka-dot pajamas, but that doesn’t mean he’s comforted by the hitman’s presence. 

“Woke up, I’m making tea.” Teru answers with a shrug, grimacing slightly at the tired roughness of his voice. He hefts himself onto the counter, no mom around to tell him otherwise, and continues. “What are you doing awake?”

“I’m a light sleeper.”

“Cool.” He nods once and considers leaving it at that, but would rather not deal with nighttime silence and Reborn all at once. “I can make you a cup too. Put enough water in the kettle.”

“Fine,” Which is surprising; Teru thought he was a coffee only kind of guy. “I’ll take a cup.” 

Luckily, the water for the tea doesn’t take long to boil, and Teru fusses with fixing their respective cups. Reborn would rather the sencha than any of the other types Teru rattles off, another surprise but easily taken in stride. They end up both seated on the counter sipping at their drinks, though Teru doesn’t drink his immediately as Reborn does, makes him wonder about burnt tongues and dulled taste buds.

“So, how old are you, really?” Might as well, three in the morning seems like the best time for these sorts of conversations.

Reborn hums, a sound that Teru can’t pin an emotion to and finds he doesn’t actually want to. “Not many people I just met can pick up on that so fast.”

“Are you kidding me?” He clicks his tongue and takes a tentative sip of tea. It burns just enough to make him wary of the next sip. “There are so many things pointing to you being older than two; it’s kind of ridiculous.”

He thinks half the people that believe Reborn is an actual child must be in denial about something. Probably a kid being smarter than them and able to shoot guns three times his size. That’s probably what’s going on with Tsuna. There’s something uncanny valley in the way Reborn just exists and interacts with the world; Teru’s surprised if it doesn’t get pointed out on the regular.

“I’m older than you, that’s for sure.”

Of course he is; it’s not that hard to be older than nearly fourteen. Teru’s hedging on Reborn being older than Nana at the very least, still a lot of wiggle room; his mom is only in her thirties.

“Alright, be that way.” Teru sighs, ready to let the quiet settle again before he remembers something else. “Oh yeah, I meant to ask about the whole mafia deal. I know regularly that’s a secret, but how much of it is a _secret_ for Tsuna and me to keep?”

Reborn doesn’t answer immediately, pausing long enough that Teru’s half-convinced he shouldn’t have even asked the question in the first place.

“Why the interest?” Not an answer, but a question in kind.

Taking another sip of his tea, he starts, having an explanation already thought out. “I mean it isn’t as though you’ll be out of our lives anytime soon, so I just wanted to know. Friends of mine asked some questions after what happened this morning, and it’ll be a hassle to cover all the time. They’re smart.”

Hana and Kyoko are both scarily stubborn. Teru knows for a fact that they’ll get answers if they really want them. Hana especially has no fear of digging deep and can piece together information with scary efficiency, and Kyoko knows just how to lead a conversation to have something accidentally slip. Teru finds himself lucky that he can maneuver around them as well as he has been, but he doubts he can keep it up forever without something coming to a head one day.

Selfishly, maybe, he doesn’t want to risk losing friendships over this and secrets badly kept. It’ll be his brother’s issue anyway, not his. Teru isn’t the one becoming a mafia boss; he’s just set to go along for the ride, but he won’t abandon Tsuna to it either.

“You’re definitely considering the things Tsunayoshi should be.” It’s worded like something close to praise, but Teru doesn’t know if he wants to take it as such. “As you’re not officially a part of the mafia, the _omertà_ doesn’t apply to you both. Tell people at your own discretion, but I’d be careful to tell only those you think would be valuable in the future and won’t blab too much.”

“So, I can tell mom?”

“Have you spoken to your brother about that?”

Why should he? She’s their mom, telling her seems as though it's the obvious thing to do. It’s a wonder she hasn’t questioned how loud the tutoring sessions have been.

“No, but it makes sense, right?”

“This isn’t my family, so I can’t tell you what you should and shouldn’t do.” Reborn answers simply, no real help at all. “I know your father didn’t tell her anything. I don’t think he plans to either.”

Stupid of him not to, Teru thinks but instead says, “I’ll talk to Tsuna about it later.”

“You’re taking this better than Tsunayoshi, that’s for sure.”

Teru thinks about the sound of a gunshot and a body on the concrete.

He grips his hands tighter around his mug, focusing on the heat of it that’s slowly bleeding away. “Tsuna’s just loud about how he feels. I saw you shoot my brother without flinching today before I had to go to school and pretend everything was fine. That doesn’t exactly put the warm and fuzzy in my heart when I see you.”

“The Dying Will Bullet is a necessity.” Goes the explanation again. “If you’re worried about me killing him, then don’t.”

That gets a scoff and he speaks into his raised mug. “Easier said than done.”

“Let’s put it this way,” The hitman continues, though Teru doesn’t know why. He doesn’t think he’ll trust this one any time soon. “I’m contracted to help Tsunayoshi and train him. That’s my primary and most important objective. Killing him would be a waste and a breach of the contract.”

Hitmen are contract killers, Teru knows that much, maybe there are some set of rules most would never cross. Still, “So even if I don’t trust you, trust the piece of paper you apparently signed, or whatever?”

“Not exactly,” Well, at least he’s honest about this. “but close enough. Hitmen are a form of businessmen, after all.”

“You in it for the pay?”

“Yes and Nono is a long time acquaintance I often do work for.” Surprisingly honest, though Teru wonders if Tsuna would get this same information if he knew what questions to ask.

“That’s a lot of information to unpack, and it’s too late for this shit.” Teru downs the rest of his tea before it has a chance to grow cold ignoring the slight burn of it. He hops off the counter and places the mug in the sink. He’s tired of talking. “I’m going back to bed.”

“Don’t curse.”

The instructions are enough to make the boy blink owlishly at the tutor. Not knowing how to feel about a literal murderer for hire telling him what words not to use, Teru settles on annoyed.

“Yeah, yeah, you aren’t my dad.” Feels like a good enough response even if it is cliche. He doesn’t bother looking back as he retreats up the stairs, but mom didn’t raise him to be completely rude. “Goodnight.”

He doesn’t bother listening for a reply.

* * *

The next day at school is a flurry of odd activity. Tsuna graces the classroom with his presence and gets roped into a kendo match because Mochida was greatly offended by the whole ordeal the other day. His brother begs Teru for his assistance, a classic twin swap out that might work if they weren’t fraternal gets shot down immediately. Teru doesn’t like the idea of the fight, but with half the school gunning for a good show, the twins don’t get much in the way of protesting done.

By the time the match rolls around, it’s a gathering, a spectator sport even when it shouldn’t be—people squeezed as close as they can in the dojo, most of them with their phones out and ready to record the whole thing. It all makes something uncomfortable churn in Teru’s gut. He knows what they want, what they expect—Tsuna’s humiliation and failure, not that he deserves it and not that he’ll lose—Teru knows that like all the things he’s steadily realizing he shouldn’t know. 

He doesn’t think he wants to see Tsuna get shot at anyway, not that anyone else would realize what happened. He knows for a fact he doesn’t want to in a room filled with people that want to see his brother’s downfall.

Teru sets a hand on Kyoko’s shoulder. She’s red-cheeked and fuming about the whole thing, has been since Mochida declared the match this morning and Kyoko as the consolation prize. Teru does hope she gets to punch him at least once for all the trouble he’s caused.

“I’m gonna step out.” He needs to speak close to her ear so he can be heard over the spectators’ noise. “Tell Tsuna I’m hanging around if you talk to him after.”

Kyoko blinks before something close to understanding flickers across her gaze. She too doesn’t necessarily like to watch her brother fight, but that makes sense. Boxing matches have a way of looking brutal and bloody and Ryohei always does his best to smile despite the blood between his teeth.

“Go ahead, Teru-kun.” She pats his hand in kind. “I’ll let him know so he doesn’t worry.”

Thank goodness for Kyoko, he thinks as he turns to go, waving _bye_ to Hana when she peaks over. Teru has to elbow people out of the way to get out of the dojo, steps on a few feet to quell his rising annoyance as he makes his way through the door.

It’s a lot quieter outside, that’s for sure—the sudden change in volume makes it feel as if it's an entirely different place. Teru rests himself against an outer wall, scooting down until he’s sitting on the grass. He fishes a box of pocky out of the pocket of the school-issued cardigan and shoves a stick in his mouth—milk flavored and the last box if he remembers correctly. He and Tsuna need to go on another snack run soon if Reborn doesn’t take over dietary needs as well.

He’s on the third one when a shadow eclipses his spot, more so distracted by the taking care of daily missions for the gacha game he enjoys playing. He expects a complaining teacher at the very least, so it's more than a little surprising to Kusakabe Tetsuya of all people standing over him.

Teru doesn't mind the Disciplinary Committee as a whole even if dealing with them can be a little intimidating. The most he's ever gotten in trouble for were the few fights on campus he's been involved in because people like to think it's okay to push Tsuna around. They still do, still are, as far Teru can tell because he can't be around his brother twenty-four/seven, but at least it's lessened when Teru is around.

“Kusakabe-senpai, shouldn’t you be watching the match?” Teru can’t help but ask, it seems like something the DC would keep an eye on.

Kusakabe shakes his head, leans himself propped up against the wall, the image of a textbook delinquent. “I have a few of the newer members watching what’s going on. I’m just on standby in case it gets out of hand.”

Teru hums and wonders if it was him or Hibari that decided that. “I’m surprised Hibari-senpai is letting this happen.”

“Well, things with Mochida have escalated far quicker than we anticipated on top of the regular beginning of the school truancy from the new first years. It’s a lot to keep track of sometimes. No one anticipated him challenging your brother to a duel of all things.”

“He’s got the ego for it.” Teru crunches hard on the pocky in his mouth. “You gonna do something about him?”

“Mochida wasn’t this bad his first year, but he’s gotten too bold now that he's in his third. Kyouya-san plans on dealing with him after all this is over with.”

It’s easy to accept that the DC does more for the school than most of the actual teachers. For a gang of delinquents, they’re extremely community-oriented and even help around the town, so no one bothers them. Then again, they are led by a Hibari and everyone in Namimori knows that’s the family with the most sway in the city and maybe even this part of Japan. It’s something no one ever talks about, but they all know it to be true.

“You might have to wait.” Teru squints his eyes at his phone, his frontline character wasn’t supposed to die during this raid he decided to do solo. Ah, he forgot to reactivate a barrier skill after the cooldown was over. “I know Ryohei-senpai at least wants to get one good punch in.”

“I’ll be sure to let Kyouya-san know then.” Let it never be said that Kusakabe isn’t a good person.

Before anything else can be said, Teru gets a message on his phone at the same time cheers loud enough to be heard through the wall erupt. He doesn’t recognize the number, but they’ve delivered him eagle-eyed snapshots of the fight—Tsuna underwear-clad and hunched over a shellshocked Mochida.

Kusakabe lets out a surprised noise. “Seems like your brother won.”

Teru saves the number as _Reborn_ and sticks another pocky in his mouth, unsurprised by all of this.

“Yeah.” He nods and stands with a fluid stretch, shoving the box of pocky back in his cardigan pocket. “Tsuna’s good at breaking expectations.”

It’s easy since they’re nonexistent in the first place, he doesn’t say, but everyone must be thinking it. They have to be. They expected him to lose and that’s why they all clustered to see the fight and saw him win instead. He wonders how else Tsuna will surprise them.

He wonders if Reborn shoving his way into their life will turn out to be a good or bad thing in the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> would you guys believe me if i said i had the dialogue for the final scene written out for hana, kyoko, and teru to talk after the match (bc sometimes i like just writing skeleton dialogue and working around that) and when i went to add the transition scenes teru decided to Not and kusakabe elbowed his way into my fic MUCH earlier than anticipated. not the cameo anyone was expected but he sure is here!!! i think he's neat; you gotta appreciate someone who knows how to handle hibari every day. 
> 
> fun fact: hitmen oftentimes are not actually part of the mafia, but are often employed by the mafia due to their services. why does reborn tell people he's in the mafia then? we just don't know. maybe he will explain something one day. or maybe gokudera will explain it because he is also a hitman, technically. whoops, maybe i'm making this fun little gag manga au too serious already, but oh well!! 
> 
> the gacha game teru is playing is actually a redux of granblue fantasty called trueazure daydream or something.
> 
> also!!! i made a [pinterest board](https://www.pinterest.com/wanderloves/fic-this-dream-isnt-feeling-sweet/) for this fic since i get bored and i like making these to help with inspiration and sort out character aesthetics that influence characterization. not everyone i want to have a section has one yet, but they will be added and edited accordingly.
> 
> sorry i got rambly! thank you so much for reading and the support you've given this fic so far!! it really does mean a lot to me!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first!! thanks so much for the 100+ kudos already; i blinked and suddenly here we are! i'm glad so many people are enjoying this so far, it's really means a lot. 
> 
> next! this chapter finished quicker than usual because i got to writing the original last scene and thought about how i would segue into the next chapter. it would've been clunky, i think, so i decided to end it early and move the last scene back. this was a very fun chapter for me to write, and it's also very important to the story (though all chapters are important), so!!! i also didn't want to take away from the most important point in the chapter by introducing something entirely different. please enjoy!!

Surprisingly, or perhaps unsurprisingly given how important things are now, Reborn actually takes the tutoring stuff seriously in a way that isn’t just setting off traps and shooting a gun at their feet when he gets annoyed. Outside of regular shenanigans and coaching Tsuna through schoolwork packets and reviewing old, red bleeding tests, Reborn starts steadily teaching the twins things about the mafia. This, the hitman always makes sure to do on nights when Teru can actually show up for the lesson, usually on days when he doesn’t have gymnastics practice on top of everything else to worry about. Reborn says it’s so he just doesn’t have to repeat the same stuff twice; Teru doesn’t call him out on it, because well, it does make the most sense. 

So far, the lessons have actually been interesting, as basic as they are. It’s been brief talks about the Vongola history mainly—the twins having to catch up on a lifetime of information due to their civilian status. Teru enjoys it though because he always enjoyed history in any shape or form; Tsuna doesn’t take to it as easily, however, partially because he’s bad with dates and putting things in order and partially because he’s still refusing the position of the next boss. 

“Why do I have to learn all this again?” Tsuna asks during a lull in one said lesson. 

The twins are pajama-clad, bellies full of dinner, and shower-fresh—all that’s left in the night is to let Reborn go over what he wants them to learn. They just started on a very brief history of the second boss. Apparently, there’s a murkiness around the actual succession, but due to Giotto stepping down and Ricardo being highly favored and the best person available even as a distant cousin, he ascended to the position with little fuss from what the archivists and historians have gathered.

Reborn pauses the PowerPoint he has going, the slide stopping on a grainy picture of Ricardo’s face superimposed against the wall over Tsuna’s bed. An intimidating looking guy, Teru notes, but not as intimidating as Reborn is looking right now that Tsuna’s interrupted him barely a full thirty minutes into the session. 

“You don’t expect to run the Vongola and not know anything about it, do you?”

Tsuna pitches himself to the side, leaning most of his weight against Teru’s arm. His hair is still damp from the shower—Teru doesn’t have the energy to push him off. “You still don’t expect me to be a mafia boss, do you?”

“Careful, don’t get smart, Tsunayoshi.” Reborn says, a lucky warning practically. “There’s no backing out of this now, especially for you and considering who you’re related to.”

A familiar grumble and groan, Tsuna slides himself down further until he’s resting against Teru’s leg. Teru pokes at his brother’s cheek, getting a half-hearted swat in return. It quickly delves into lackluster play wrestling and batting at each other softer than kitty paws. 

“Dad’s in the mafia, right?” Surprisingly enough, Tsuna asks; his wrists caught and hands dangling uselessly—he always loses their playfights. 

Their dad’s involvement in the mafia isn’t something Reborn has mentioned outside the late-night conversation with Teru, but even that wasn’t necessarily a direct topic. He doesn’t deny it now, at least. 

“He’s the external adviser and leader of the _Consulenza Esterna Della Famiglia_ —CEDEF for short. You’ll get to the inner workings of the Vongola and alliances after you get through the bosses.”

Tsuna frowns, electing to ignore the pointed nature of Reborn’s last statement. “Does mom know about the mafia?”

“Mama doesn’t know.” Teru answers with a shake of his head. He feels bitter whenever he has to think about it. “Reborn said dad wanted to keep it a secret from her. Can you believe him?”

There’s no immediate answer, not like Teru expects because he and Tsuna usually have mirroring feelings about their dad. It feels a little akin to betrayal to see that contemplating look on his brother’s face. 

Teru narrows his eyes. “Please don’t tell me you agree with him?”

Tsuna scrambles up. Teru feels the nervous bird flutter of his brother’s pulse before he lets go of his wrists. It feels like a weird impasse when they make eye contact again.

“You…” Tsuna starts, fingers twitching and tapping against his knees. He starts again, “You know I’m upset about dad leaving us just as you are.”

“But not about why? Not that he lied?” 

Teru’s usually better at listening—keyword being _usually_. He doesn’t know why he’s so upset about this in particular; he and Tsuna have differing opinions all the time, even about their dad though those are few and far in between.

“I’m not happy that he lied either, but c’mon, Teru. He’s in the mafia! Who wants to know that they have family in the mafia?”

“People with family in the mafia, obviously.” Teru clicks his tongue, arms crossed over his chest. “He didn’t even lie about it well. Construction company worker my ass.”

Tsuna rubs the back of his neck. “Okay, yeah. He could have done better about that, I guess. Don’t you think it’s a good thing we didn’t know? We got to live normally until all this happened.” 

“Sure, that was nice, but how long would it have lasted?” There’s no _normal_ when you have mafia in your family lineage anyway, Teru doesn’t think. “Dad’s in a high enough position that he must have enemies unless he goes by a fake name in Italy.”

“Your father still goes by Sawada Iemitsu.” Reborn cuts in, a bolt from the blue. Teru forgot the tutor was still in the room—he wonders why he’s letting the argument go on. Then again, he's a tutor, not a babysitter. 

Whatever the reason, it’s working in his favor. Disappointed but not surprised that his dad still throws around his real name when working with dangerous people. “See? So who knows when or if the mafia would have actually shown up. We’re lucky we got Reborn first and that he hasn’t been sent to kill us.” 

People might still try to send assassins and hitmen now more than ever. Tsuna’s the heir after all and Reborn’s leaving from the immediate mafia scene ought to make waves. Teru shudders to think of the repercussions that may or may not follow. He can’t trust the faulty memory of a bygone life. 

_(Three dead sons in quick succession._

_A body’s dull thud on the concrete.)_

“Still...” Tsuna tries again, shoulders curled. Teru feels a little guilty. Maybe he’s being too harsh about the whole thing. Tsuna’s heart seems to be in a good place, at least. “Mom knowing about all this. Won’t that upset her?”

“Yeah,” Teru agrees without thought. She’ll learn that dad lied for years and that her kids are being raised to delve deep into the underbelly of society, but at least, “it’ll be better for her to hear it from us though rather than learn the hard way.” 

_Rather than when one of us is either hurt or dead_ Teru doesn’t say, but the implication hangs heavy. Caught and understood if his brother’s nod is any indication of that.

“Tomorrow’s Sunday, so we can tell her then.” Tsuna settles on that much, though he does sound wary about the whole thing. Teru doesn’t blame him.

“If you two are done,” Reborn says after a few seconds of silence when the twins have nothing more to say to each other, eyes caught on different points in the dimly lit room. “I’d like to get back to the lesson. We need to cover the important changes during Secondo’s reign tonight if we want to stay on track.”

The serious air in the room quickly dissipates with Tsuna’s groaning, but he reluctantly goes along with it like always. Well, it’s a better thing to focus on than tomorrow’s conversation. 

* * *

The sun rises on Sunday in the way that it always does and will do, and the twins decide to tag along with their mom on her weekly grocery run. It’s something they haven’t done as a family in a long while—Tsuna out of lack of motivation to get up early enough and Teru because he normally spends a majority of Sunday catching up on any work he had to cut corners with during the week.

Teru thinks Tsuna brought up the idea mainly out of guilt or something akin to it. The fact that after the outing they’ll tell her about the mafia, nothing about their family will ever be the same. It was an inevitability—Teru knew that much as soon as Reborn showed up at their doorstep. Better to get it out of the way fast, better not to keep a secret this heavy and dangerous between a bunch of kids and their toddler shaped tutor. 

So, the twins stick close to their mom for one last day of normalcy, and Nana beams the entire time that they’re out. Family activities always make her excited, even if it’s something as mundane as this. She’s chatty the whole while too, asking the twins how they’re finding Reborn as a tutor even if it’s been just little less than a week. _Manageable_ Teru calls the teaching methods, voice loud enough to drown out Tsuna’s bellyaching when mentioning the hitman. If mom notices that, she doesn’t say anything to it, just smiles indulgently and tells them how proud she is of them for trying even if Reborn is just technically Tsuna’s tutor. 

It’s nice, Teru has to admit, in an idyllic near-summer sort of way. Childhood warm and summer simple. Makes it feel as if all the strange things that have happened so far and so fast are more akin to a far-off dream like they ought to be. Sure, he still feels a little out of place, a little like he shouldn’t belong even if there’s evidence upon evidence of that being the exact opposite. 

But that’s so easy to ignore when Tsuna keeps a grip on his wrist, a callback from a clumsy childhood and knowing that Teru will keep him from falling in public when he does inevitably trip over something. And the feeling is easy to ignore when his mom asks what he wants for dinner this week since they had Tsuna’s favorite last week (“Chicken curry extra spicy!”) and promises she’ll make it soon. It’s easy to ignore when Kyoko sends multiple pictures of her cat’s new litter of kittens that were born just last week, and Hana immediately laments her allergies because _they’re so cute it’s unfair._

It’s nice to belong, and Teru will savor the blooming warmth of the feeling like a spring flower opening after a long winter for as long as he can. 

* * *

The Sawadas arrive back home around lunchtime, and Reborn is still right where they left him with the addition of more papers surrounding him on the table and a few more books. He called it lesson planning when asked. Since he’s never taught Japanese students before, he wanted to go over the basic curriculum because even though he’s a hitman first, he’s still a tutor in academics as well. Which makes sense, all things considered; Nana did gush about how Reborn has multiple PhDs from multiple colleges under his belt already, so education isn’t something he’d cut corners with. Teru’s seen him do complex math in his head; it’s kind of intimidating. 

“Uh, mom,” Tsuna voices, after a simple lunch consisting of cold soba and soft conversations. “I, uhm, _we,_ need to tell you something. Me and Teru and...and Reborn.” 

Teru pauses his washing of the dishes to glean his mom’s expression, but her back is to him though he can make out Tsuna’s expression over her shoulder. His brother looks nervous about the whole thing. 

“Of course, Tsu-kun.” Mom’s voice is supportively bright; Teru can imagine her smiling and trying to be reassuring even if she doesn’t know what’s going on. “Teru-kun, it seems like an important conversation, why don’t you stop the dishes and we’ll go to the living room.”

“Sure.” Teru says when he realizes she won’t be able to see his nod. 

He rinses out the cup he was washing, and everyone slowly gathers in the same space. The twins take up the couch, Reborn on the arm next to Tsuna’s elbow, and Nana the armchair.

She’s the first to break the silence before it can last too long. “So, what did you want to tell me? Did something happen with the tutoring?”

“Kind of.” Tsuna answers, fingers digging into the fabric of his pants. He spares a glance at Teru and looks as though he might faint. 

There’s no easy way to tell your mom that you’ve been selected to lead a mafia family all the way in Italy.

“I haven’t been completely truthful to you, Sawada-san.” Reborn cuts in before Teru can try to bring it up, maybe taking responsibility for all the mess he’s brought to their doors. 

“I’ve told you to call me, _maman_ or _Nana_ if you have to.” She sighs softly, smiles still. “But what is it?”

“Your son, Tsunayoshi is in a very unique position.” Reborn continues; there’s a certain gravity in his words that wasn’t there when he first said this information to the twins. Their mom doesn’t have the luxury to doubt. “While I was called here to tutor him in academics, that is only part of my job. My real job is to train him to be the next head of the Vongola.”

Nana hums, a finger tapping against her chin. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of them, but you said you’re from Italy. An Italian business?”

“So to speak,” Teru then remembers that Reborn said something about the Vongola having more than a few cover corporations—hotels mainly and a fairly recent dipping their hands into the resort business. “but I’m talking about the fact that the Vongola is a powerful mafia family. The strongest in Italy. Tsuna is the current heir and will take the title of Tenth when he’s ready.” 

Tsuna sinks into the couch cushions and Teru can hear the insistent pout in his voice. “I don’t wanna be a mafia boss either mom.”

“You are the only one eligible for the task, Tsunayoshi.” Reborn replies, a familiar song and dance between the two at this point.

“Wait, please.” Nana cuts in. Teru thinks she looks a bit paler and more confused. “By mafia, you mean like criminals and gangs and all sorts of things. My Tsu-kun?”

Reborn nods, solemn as a grave. “Yes ma’am.”

“And...and what about Mitsu?” Her brows furrow. “Does he know about this?”

“Iemitsu was the one who told me about the job.”

“Dad’s part of the mafia too.” Teru says, knowing that she’d have questions about that next. “He’s the external advisor to the Vongola.”

Their mom’s shock looks different than Tsuna’s, Teru quickly learns. It’s like the rug has been pulled from under her feet and maybe she’d brush it off as a joke or a prank, but this isn’t a stranger telling her these things. It’s her sons that she loves and a tutor she trusts in her house and alone with her children. She has no reason to think they’re lying. 

“Oh.” It’s a softly whispered shock that Teru can barely hear, but he sees how her fingers dig into the fabric of her skirt on her knees. “Why didn’t he tell me about this? That he was in the mafia or our son would be involved.”

Reborn’s tone does sound genuinely apologetic with his next words. “I wouldn’t know though I would assume to keep you safe. Tsunayoshi’s position wasn’t expected.”

Nana shakes her head. “Still, after he learned he could have told me. He could have warned me. This is important. This is our son. What about..what about Teru.” She turns to look Teru in the eye, she’s never been a fan of talking about them as if they aren’t there. “Teru, what about you?”

Teru shrugs and wishes he could answer for her sake as well as his own. “I don’t know. No one’s said anything specific about me.”

“We’re still in an assessment stage for Yoshiteru, so his exact involvement in the family isn’t clear yet. Tsunayoshi was the priority when I was told.” Reborn informs though it does nothing to make Teru feel better. By the look on her face, it doesn’t help Nana either. 

“But he will be involved? Just like Tsu-kun?”

“That’s the idea.”

“Both of them, both my boys, in the mafia.” She sighs. “Mitsu didn’t tell me anything. How long has he been in the mafia; do you know, Reborn?”

“I’ve known Iemitsu for years now, since before he married you.”

Not exactly an answer, not a specific one anyway. But it’s damning just the same. Teru knows that this will be their fourteenth year married; his mom gets so excited when the wedding anniversary comes around. 

“He told me it was construction work. He wasn’t ever going to tell me, was he?” Her smile looks heartbroken, her eyes shiny. 

“I don’t believe he planned on it.”

Teru wishes he had a better father that didn’t think keeping decade long secrets was a good thing. It makes him glad he was able to get Tsuna to agree to tell her even if it’s mainly Reborn explaining everything. Tsuna must be glad about that, at least. 

“Well then, thank you for letting me know.” She stands from her seat, walks over, and throws an arm around the twins, squeezing gently. “Thank you for trusting me with this information, Tsu-kun. Teru-kun.” They soldier through kisses on their temples for her sake, but Teru thinks it's nice. “I think I need a bit to wrap my head around this fully. I’m sorry.”

“Take your time, mom.” Tsuna’s voice is muffled by the fabric of her shirt. “If you don’t want to cook tonight, Teru and I can grab something from the conbini later.”

Nana straightens, laughs. The lightness it regularly carries isn’t back all the way, not yet. “Dinner’s still a while off, but I’ll let you know how I feel. Thank you for being so considerate. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some stuff to do.”

“Are you gonna call dad?” Teru ventures; he wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case.

“More than likely.” She says simply. “We have important things to discuss, after all.” 

Teru wishes her the best of luck. It’s hard to even reach their dad on a good day, let alone when he actually needs to be called. If he’s holed up in Italy or wherever else the Vongola sends him—a postcard from Antarctica, really?—no wonder it’s usually a hit or miss. But their mom is stubborn; if anyone can reach a wayward husband, it’s her. 

* * *

The day goes on normally, somewhat. The twins spend the tutoring session going over schoolwork, less fuss from Tsuna than normal, and significantly fewer explosions used. Teru thinks Reborn might be considerate to Nana who can be heard walking through the house and occasionally talking on the phone. Her words are always too indistinct to hear, but Teru hopes she’s ripping Iemitsu a new one in that special way she does when she doesn’t have to yell at all to make people scared of her. 

She does pop in the room long enough to let the twins know that they can either order pizza or grab something from the 7-14 down the street and that the money is on the table for them to use, no need to bring back her change. The twins settle on the conbini mainly as an excuse to take a walk after spending all day sitting, and Reborn doesn’t even follow them there. 

They end up getting something for everyone and have enough money left over a few snacks. Not a proper snack run, but that’ll come next week once they’ve amassed enough savings from their pooled together allowance to warrant it. They like to practically clear half a shelf when they do go. 

The twins eat their dinner on the back patio, legs over the hang, and bare feet digging into grass and dirt. The sun has set already, leaving the hanging crescent moon and chirping of night bugs and flickering of the back patio light illuminating them in a dim yellow glow. It’s humid-hot, the sort that heralds either rain or a summer storm soon. It’s been surprisingly bright for the rainy season, besides.

The nighttime silence the twins have been sitting in is broken by the rolling shutter of the sliding glass door opening and closing. Their mom squishes in the space between them, so everyone’s shoulder to shoulder and tightly packed. 

“Sorry I ran off this afternoon.” Is the first thing she says once situated. “How was your day?”

“Fine,” Teru answers to elaborate on the simple noise Tsuna made. “Reborn’s teaching us about the other bosses.”

“Must be interesting.” She says but doesn’t pursue that topic further. Not in the way she would if Teru was just talking about a new subject in school. “Where’s Reborn now?”

“Bath.” Tsuna answers and carefully asks, “Aren’t you freaked out about the whole mafia thing?”

“I’m worried about my two lovely children because it isn’t safe.” She answers immediately, adjusting so she has an arm over each of their shoulders as if the twins might float away if she’s isn’t careful. “I managed to talk to your father today. He told me what happened to his boss's sons, but he also told me I shouldn’t worry because Reborn is under contract to protect you, and he’s the best there is.”

“Still worrying though?” Teru knows his mom well enough to know this much. Tsuna worries as much as her but in different ways and about different things. 

“Of course. It’s my job to worry about you both no matter what. I worried when you were born, and I worried when you crawled, and I worried when you went to school for the first time.” She shakes her head slowly. 

Teru vaguely remembers when her hair was long enough to braid and would always brush against him when she leaned in close. She still carries the smell of peach blossoms in her hair. He doesn’t know why he’s thinking of that now. 

“There isn’t much I can do about this though. It’s already been decided.” It’s weird to hear her sound so somber about something. 

“Why can’t someone else do it?” Tsuna must lean in closer because Teru finds himself being pushed to the side more. He steadies himself with a hand pressed on the patio. 

“I asked that too, Tsu-kun.” Teru wonders how much their mom has sighed today, wonders how she still has breath in her body for more. “Your father said it’s because you’re a Sawada and that’s important. I know the family is old, but I wasn’t expecting them to be traced to Italy of all places.”

“Ieyasu was Giotto who was Italian.” Teru explains. “Asari Ugetsu was a good friend of his, that’s how he ended up in Namimori.”

“Huh, no wonder they got married.”

It’s said so simply and suddenly that it takes the twins off guard. Sure, Reborn told them that Giotto moved to Namimori where Ugetsu was from, but he didn’t say all that even though it seems important to mention.

“Really?” The boys echo at different octaves. Teru is practically bright-eyed at the information. 

“Well, it sounds more like they eloped,” Which sounds even more amazing to his ears and does make sense when put in context. “but there’s overlap in the koseki for a reason.”

“You know a lot about Sawada history.” Tsuna says.

Teru feels her shrug. “I married into the family and your obaasan is a historian. Have you thought about asking her some stuff to maybe help?”

“Not really.” Tsuna says in a way that means he hasn’t even considered it an option, and Teru didn’t either. 

“Maybe you’ll find a loophole or something if you keep digging.” She offers, unsurprisingly. She doesn’t want her kids caught up in this mess either. “Chiyo-san is coming over tomorrow since your papa’s birthday is Wednesday. Ask her things then.”

With all the mess that’s happened, Teru completely forgot about the upcoming birthday. “Are you calling dad again for his birthday?”

“I do every year.”

“Even if he never calls for ours?” He doesn’t feel bad for asking, but he does feel a little bad for making his mom sigh again for the umpteenth time today. 

“Teru, he loves you.” She says with a soft certainty and holds him a bit tighter. 

Teru scoffs but doesn’t push away from the affection, at least she’s warm and here and trying. He can’t begrudge her for that. “I think he likes his job more though.”

“The mafia’s messy.” She tries again. “You can’t get out once you get in. I’m sure he’d like to be home more, but…”

“He’s just busy.” Tsuna says and doesn’t sound exactly convinced.

“He’s just busy.” A confirming echo. “He still sends us enough money for bills and groceries and then some every month. He still cares.”

This time Tsuna sighs, something great and huge and heavy. “I wish he cared enough to stay.”

 _I wish he cared enough to not let this happen._ Teru thinks and knows his brother must be thinking this too and maybe their mom as well. No one says it because words are powerful things and some realizations are just too painful to give that power to yet. 

Maybe one day, when they’re all a little stronger, but not today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can you tell my least favorite part of canon is how no one tells anyone anything??? i felt nana not knowing anything was completely ridiculous, especially when the varia arc happens and the kids kept coming back hurt. it just felt really unfair to her, so teru is here to talk some sense into tsuna because tsuna especially is adamantly against telling people stuff too even though he really should at some point. like i get why but c'mon, you're like 12; tell a proper adult and get a support system that isn't also traumatized 12 year olds. 
> 
> also, i don't really ship the first guardians but also the more that i think about music man asari convincing giotto to move to namimori it sounds more like an eloping story, but the vongola historians are just "wow they must have been very good friends." i wish i could write grandpa ex-mafia gays into this story but the twins have a cool grandma i keep mentioning, so that's fine. maybe one day if i write extra stuff for this fic. but i do have a mental catalog (that i need to write down in notes) of how most of the first gen relationships panned out and whether or not i get to it in this fic, well who knows. 
> 
> thanks for reading and the support so far!!! please remember i am what the kids call desperate for comments and validation and also i just like talking.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote this chapter in two days. it's the longest one yet; so sorry if it's a mess of mistakes, but i will read it over again & fix any at a later day. also, i'm moving this month, so this might be the last chapter until june; we'll see!! anyways, not me getting emotional about my own ocs 5 different times while writing this chapter, haha.

Same as the Sunday before, the following Monday rolls around with little fanfare. Subsequently, it’s relatively the same Monday as it always is even if Teru feels the weight of changes settling on his shoulders. 

The atmosphere in the house is a bit different now that their mom knows; she squeezes them tighter when the boys have to leave for school and says _I love you_ no less than three times throughout the morning. Tsuna suffers quietly, red-faced with embarrassment but doesn’t shrink away like he might have a couple of weeks ago. Teru, who has always bloomed under his mom’s soft affection, sees nothing wrong with it. It does make him worried, however, and makes him wonder how much stress she’s suddenly piled under knowing that her immediate family is caught in the mafia of all things.

“Mom was being really clingy this morning.” Tsuna pouts once they’re out of the house and down the street. 

The way to school is normal, at least; Reborn’s not hitching a ride on either of their heads or shoulders. Teru didn’t bother to ask why, but he guesses it’s for more lesson planning or maybe to answer questions mom might have before she has to go and pick up Chiyo-obaasan.

Teru pushes those thoughts down and turns to Tsuna with a smile. “She’s just glad you’re finally getting to school on time.” He practically coos, reaching over to ruffle his brother’s messy head of hair.

“Stop it!” Tsuna squawks and flails, nearly sending himself careening into the concrete when he stumbles over his own feet. Teru steadies him just as he always does before something painful can happen. 

“Seriously though, Tsu.” Teru continues, swinging an arm over his brother’s shoulder mostly in part to keep him from tripping again, hopefully. “I think it’s really neat that you can get yourself up on time now.” 

“Like Reborn would let me.” Tsuna sighs but continues. “But it is nice getting to school before the last bell rings. The teacher doesn’t yell at me then.” 

Teru agrees—it’s a nice change of pace to not have to see that brand of resigned disappointment directed at his brother so early in the morning. He can tell it’s caught more than a few people off guard, this sudden and steady change with Tsuna. It makes Teru happy. It makes him nervous about something he can’t describe, but Tsuna’s doing better in little ways, so it can’t be bad. Teru still worries. It runs in the family. 

“What about the morning runs?” Teru doesn’t go with them, but maybe he should. At least a couple times a week just to see how they go. 

Tsuna shivers as if just thinking about them gives him physical pain, so maybe not. “Reborn’s spartan. I feel like I’m gonna die before we even complete the whole thing. Ah, Sasagawa-senpai joins us sometimes too. Well, he usually runs ahead of us, but he’s shown up long enough to chat for a few minutes.”

“Making friends with our senpai now, how cool!”

Teru knows that the Sasagawas don’t live that close to them, but hearing that Ryohei runs far enough to make his way to their part of town isn’t surprising. Kyoko does sometimes complain about how early her brother gets up in the morning. 

“No!” Tsuna shakes his head in denial. “He’s just being nice. Sasagawa-senpai is friendly!” Either way, Tsuna’s cheeks are suddenly pink and it looks as if he’s trying to hold back a smile despite previous objections. Teru prompts him to continue with a soft poke to his tummy. “Fine, okay. Your fingers _hurt_ , Teru! Jeez! Sasagawa-senpai said thank you for sticking up for Kyoko-chan even if it meant a fight with Mochida. I know...I know it was mostly because of Reborn, and I was trying to run from the whole thing anyway, but still…” 

Teru thinks this might be the first time anyone’s ever thanked Tsuna for something, someone that wasn’t Teru himself or mama or grandma. He wonders how his twin must feel about all this—happy, surely, if the flower shy look on his face is any indication. Tsuna hasn’t had this sort of expression on his face in...Teru doesn’t know how long, actually—years and years, easily. 

He remembers when Tsuna used to be more excited about school though it’s a fuzzy haze that belongs to all childhood memories at this point. His twin was still new in his clumsiness, wobbly on legs like a newborn foal, bruises, and plasters decorating his hands and arms and knees similar to fawn spots. It didn’t really deter him though, not at first. Tsuna always came home from school with a bright smile, waving around all the worksheets and drawings he did that day, shoving and squeezing himself in Teru’s bed to go over them as best he could. Nevermind that Teru finished his own similar homeschooled lessons just an hour before. 

It didn’t last that long, Teru doesn’t think, because he remembers the first time Tsuna came home crying about being called _useless_ and _no good_ and how an older group of kids knocked over his sandcastle and snatched his toy. 

Mama was beside herself. Dad wasn’t home; hadn’t been since a few months ago when he came along and brought that guest over that Teru, for the life of him, can’t remember anything about except that the old man’s hands were a shade of olive-brown and wrinkled in a way that showed his age.

The teachers didn’t do anything, or maybe they did, but they stopped caring enough to keep doing anything. Tsuna stopped complaining about it at home, the bullying at least. He still sniffled when the worksheets got too hard to understand, and Teru learned how to carefully mimic his brother’s crooked characters so he could try to explain things going backward as best he could. It worked well until it didn’t, and Teru got a serious and boring lecture about doing Tsuna’s work for him. They told him that it was cheating, but no one else was helping Tsuna, not even mom—her words, just words, could only do so much.

That was just one thing Teru did anyway because Teru would do a lot for Tsuna, no hesitation. He remembers the first time he got into a fight on Tsuna’s behalf—always on Tsuna’s behalf. Only a week into public school proper and Teru bit a fifth grader so hard he lost one of his milk teeth. A bloody affair that had everyone beside Teru crying because he wasn’t going to feel sorry for someone that called his brother names and pushed him into the sand as soon as Teru had his back turned. 

_He needs to channel that anger into something productive before he becomes more problematic;_ the principal and counselor had told him and had convinced his mom it was necessary. Suddenly, Teru was enrolled in gymnastics after misses with other sports, and then suddenly, no one at school bothered to call him names either because he was good at something or because if someone even looked at Tsuna funny in his vicinity, Teru was quick to bare his teeth.

Tsuna wasn’t that lucky. Tsuna was never that lucky despite what his name had insisted and foretold. But now he’s better, Teru thinks, in little ways. A steady climb upward that’s been long since overdue. 

He swallows a well of emotions and throws his other arm around Tsuna’s neck into an obnoxious sort of hug that nearly sends them both into a light pole. Tsuna keeps them steady despite the suddenness and the alarm. 

“I’m so proud of you!” Teru crows and feels as though he might cry. 

Tsuna hugs him back but not without hesitance in his movements and confusion in his tone. “Thanks. I think?” He coughs a laugh. “You and mom are really embarrassing today, you know?”

Teru releases him with a fake pout and exaggerated offense when he delivers a sharp poke on the soft spot underneath Tsuna’s ribs, grinning wide when his twin practically crumbles. “You love us though.”

Tsuna complains about boney fingers and sharp edges as he straightens up, though he does look fond. “Sure.” He draws out in a sigh. “C’mon I don’t wanna be late. What if Kyoko-chan’s already there?”

Teru resists the urge to roll his eyes. At least some things haven’t completely changed. 

* * *

School is simple and easy to get through. The initial hype from Tsuna and Mochida’s fight has died down, but the aftereffects are still felt. Tsuna isn’t under harsh scrutiny and the butt of as many jokes. It’s a nice change of pace, sudden as it is, even if people are still slinging around the nickname, there’s a lot less malice and jeers behind it. Still, it’ll be a good day when it finally disappears—maybe by the time they’re third years.

However, Teru isn’t a fan of how quickly people have changed their tune. It just means it won’t take much for them to change it back, probably when a new interest comes along. It’ll be soon too, Teru thinks. Baseball season is starting to pick up and golden boy Yamamoto keeps winning their school games like he did the year before. Teru doesn’t care enough about those sorts of sports to keep a close eye on them, but when the star of the team is in your class, it’s hard to ignore. 

Teru keeps these thoughts to himself for now because Tsuna’s fine with what’s happening. He doesn’t exactly want to be the one that rains on his twin’s parade by telling him these bare bones of common decency he’s been owed is probably just a temporary thing coming from their classmates. 

Either way, he can’t worry too hard about classmates he barely remembers the names of. Not when mama now knows about the mafia and their grandma is already at their house by the time the school day ends. Alone with Reborn too, given that mom just sent a message to the family group chat letting them know she had to run back out to the store real quick. 

“It can’t be that bad right?” Tsuna bargains, fishing out the house key to unlock the door. “Chiyo-baasan likes babies, so maybe…”

Teru raises an eyebrow even though his brother can’t see it. “You still think Reborn-san is a normal baby?”

"Well, maybe not _normal_ , but a baby's a baby." Tsuna sighs, words half-muffled by his face shoved into his bag. “It’s easy to, you know, not freak out about the whole thing if I don’t think too hard about it.”

You know what, Teru will let him have that. He nods in understanding; the avoidance tactic, focus on something smaller to not get as overwhelmed. Tsuna has weird ways of managing his deal, so Teru won’t give him flack for that. 

“I’m more worried about them getting along.” Teru admits, repressing a shiver.

Their grandma is sweet but oddly eccentric. Teru’s half convinced she was in a girl gang when she was younger though he’s never shared that suspicion with anyone. Given that their dad’s in the mafia and their whole mafia family roots, it probably wouldn’t be too far off the mark anyway.

Tsuna lets out a whine finally pushing the door open. “Don’t say that!” He pleads before switching his tune to say, “We’re home!” when they step through the threshold.

“Welcome home.” Is their grandma’s response, drifting from the direction of the living room. 

The twins drop their bags and shove off their shoes, a bit more motivated than normal to get the job done. Teru gets done first if only because Tsuna stumbles a bit in the process, but he is right behind him when they go to give a proper greeting.

“There are my darling grandsons.” Chiyo-obaasan beams, already standing from her seat. She assesses the boys with hands on her hips and a smile that makes her laugh lines stick out. “Finally getting some meat on your bones? Nana-chan always feeds you well.” 

The twins echo affirmations and are then swept up in a hug. Their grandma is tall, so folding them into her arms is an easy feat, though she can no longer twirl them both around like she used to. Still, she smells like she always does—incense and earth and mint—and her hugs are firm and comforting. Teru wishes she lived closer and not in the oldest district of Namimori where it’s more mountain and forest than anything and the old Sawada home sits nestled down a well-troddened path. 

“Now,” Chiyo-obaasan breaks the hug first, inclining her head to the living room. Reborn is there mildly sipping a drink—tea probably since there’s no lingering smell of coffee in the air. Teru didn’t even notice the tutor. “Sit down, boys. I was just talking to Reborn-san about some stuff. Join us.”

Tsuna is more reluctant to do so, but they both sit anyway. It feels akin to a repeat of what happened just yesterday, Teru doesn’t know how to feel because he has no idea what’s going to happen now.

Their grandma starts anyway, thank goodness, one leg swung over the other and chin resting in the palm of her hand. “You know, Nana-chan told me that a person named Reborn was tutoring you two. I knew what to expect, in part, but still, I’m surprised.”

“Wait!” Tsuna cuts in immediately, voice pitched in alarm. “You know Reborn?”

“Tsunayoshi, I’m world-famous.” Reborn answers, words punctuated by a sip of his drink. 

Chiyo-obaasan laughs, raspy as it always is. “It’s more like I know _of_ him. Now Fon, I heard a lot about that boy.”

Teru frowns, lips pursed. Why does that name sound familiar? He can’t think about it much right now, not with an entire conversation to keep track of. He adds it to a growing mental pile and hopes it doesn’t inevitably get lost. 

“It’s been a while since I’ve heard someone call Fon a boy.” Reborn sounds interested in a way Teru doesn’t get. 

Tsuna keys in on that sharply if the way his eyes dart between tutor and grandmother is any indication. 

Chiyo-obaasan shrugs, casual as anything. “His aunt, Hibari Masami always talked about her wildling of a nephew whenever she got news of him.”

“You’re close with the Hibari matriarch?” 

That’s surprising for Teru to hear too, then again his grandma hasn’t told them everything about her past. Maybe it’s more surprising that Reborn knows about the Hibaris.

“Former Hibari matriarch.” She corrects simply. “Her daughter Yuuko has held the title as clan head for about two decades now.” Her attention turns towards the twins. “Teru-kun. Tsu-kun. Don’t you go to school with a Hibari?”

Teru nods and answers first. “Hibari Kyouya. He heads the Disciplinary Committee for the middle school, but you can find them just about anywhere, actually.”

“It’s just a gang.” Tsuna practically grumbles. He’s one of the people actually scared of the DC, not that Teru blames him. 

Chiyo-obaasan laughs again, sounding oddly fond. “Yeah, that’s Yuuko’s boy. Kinda surprised he manages his own group of kids that well, Cloudy as he is.”

Reborn’s expression changes briefly—flickers back to normal too fast for Teru to tell exactly what it was that crossed his features. “You know about Flames?”

That too sounds oddly familiar in ways that Teru can’t explain.

“I’m a Sawada, Reborn.” She says as though it’s the only explanation needed; given their family history, maybe it is. “I was going to teach the twins a few years down the road, but seems like you’ve beaten me to it.”

“Wait!” Tsuna cuts in again, arms thrown up like that’s supposed to help halt the conversation. “What are you talking about! What flames? Who’s on fire?”

Their grandmother looks genuinely surprised by his confusion. “You serious, kiddo? Huh, not there yet in the lessons?”

“I was going to ease them into it. They’ve got a lot to catch up on already.” Reborn explains, in part anyway. Teru is still confused by the thread of conversation. “Iemitsu said he knew about Flames before he even came to Italy, but I didn’t know it was a family taught thing.”

Chiyo-obaasan huffs, straightens her posture, and waves a hand dismissively.“Taught the brat when he was fourteen, told him more about Ieyasu, and what information we have access to. Next thing I know, he’s insisting on Italy for college, and now I rarely hear from him these days.” Her tongue clicks. “Actually, Mitsu’s always been a bit more Cloud than Sky, but I guess he was Sky enough for the Vongola to take him into their ranks to use.”

Teru thinks she sounds a little bitter, a little upset, at what, he isn’t quite sure. 

Tsuna runs a hand through his hair; Teru keeps an eye out just in case he starts pulling at it—a bad habit they both have.“What do you mean dad’s a cloud but he’s also a sky? I’m confused. What does the weather have to do with anything.”

 _A lot,_ Teru’s mind supplies, suddenly enough that it makes him frown.

“Sorry, kiddo. We’ll slow down for you.” Grandma apologizes neatly and then turns toward Reborn; her smile sharp. “ You’re their tutor, you explain since you’re doing such a good job with my boys already.”

And that’s how the twins are introduced to their newest mafia lesson, probably the most important one they’ll get, a foundation for things to follow. Reborn tells them about Flames and Elements and Guardians. He touches on the characteristics: Sky for harmonization, Storm for disintegration, Rain for tranquility, Sun for activation, Lightning for hardening, Mist for construction, and Cloud for propagation. 

He point-blank tells them that the Vongola quickly rose through the ranks not only because they were one of the first families to properly utilize Flames to their fullest potential, but also because Skies are strong in their bloodline even if Flames aren’t exactly genetically passed down. Yet every Vongola boss since Primo has been a Sky and thus has had a full set of Guardians at their back.

Even in the mafia circle, where Flames are coveted, not every leader for a family is a Sky, but every Sky ends up being a leader in their own right. 

Chiyo-obaasan too, tells them how Skies are prominent enough with the Sawadas.

“I’m more Storm than anything though.” She lets them know, a steady red flame with orange glowing at its core lights up the ring on her finger—Teru thought it was her wedding ring, but maybe it never was. 

Their father must be the same, sort of; Grandma called him Cloudy just moments before. He too must have a dual set of flames to wield.

They let the twins know that the flickering orange that burns from Tsuna means that he’s a Sky of the purest sort; it means he’s important and a rare type of person. It’s why he, in particular, must lead the Vongola through another generation of glory; why Nono insists on it.

“What about Teru?” Tsuna asks. 

He’s doing his best to sound brave, Teru can hear it. There’s suddenly a lot more weighing on his shoulders now that they’ve added weird flame magic on top of whatever else the mafia had in store for them. However, Tsuna’s hands shake only a little. 

Teru suddenly remembers their first day of kindergarten, sticking out because dad was there too against all odds, though he left the week after. 

_“What about Teru?”_ Tsuna had asked then too, voice wavering and watery as he stood near the school gates alone, fingers twisted in the hem of his shirt. 

Their mom was quick to crouch down to his height, taking Teru who was carried against her hip right with her. Teru thinks he might have already started crying by then if not close to it. He just knows he couldn’t form the words to make his brother feel better at the time. 

_“Don’t cry, Tsu-chan.”_ She soothed. _“Teru-chan’s going to stay at home with me and papa, but he’ll be here when we pick you up, okay?”_

 _“That’s right, Tsuna-fish.”_ Their dad had added, also stooped down. _“School isn’t even that scary. You gotta be a brave older brother though or you’ll worry Teru-bear.”_

Those words seemed to be enough because Tsuna wiped at his face and walked very bravely, if shakily, into the threshold of the school as he would for a few more years after. At that moment, Teru didn’t think he’d ever seen a braver person. 

If Teru hates worrying Tsuna, then Tsuna hates worrying Teru tenfold. Always has. He takes to his role as an older brother seriously and in strange ways, like now. There’s worry in the way Tsuna holds his posture, but Teru doesn’t think it’s worry directed at himself. Tsuna hasn’t yet bemoaned this new information, the harder work it means for him, immediately asking after Teru instead. 

“Yoshiteru is still undecided.” Reborn answers; same sort of answer he always gives. It doesn’t help anything, it never does. “Your father told me there was an incident when the two of you were younger. I’m here to help rectify it and the results will play a large role in the decision.”

“An incident.” Chiyo-obaasan scoffs, the amber of her gaze sharp. “If that’s what you want to call it, sure.”

“What incident?” Tsuna asks, voice pitched higher as his concern grows.

 _A seal_ , Teru minds supplies, suddenly, unhelpfully, but his mouth can’t form the words to answer what he shouldn’t know. He doesn’t know what a seal has to do with anything anyway.

“We’ll talk about it later.” Reborn dismisses and right on time too. 

The door opens and Nana’s voice floats into the house, a little out of breath but happy. Teru is the first to respond, breaking his brother out of whatever is going on his head. 

They’ll come back to this later, more than likely. No reason to bring back such strange topics so soon.

* * *

The thing is, they don’t talk about the _Incident_ , not when the twins have to juggle school, Reborn’s lessons, Chiyo-obaasan’s visit, and everything else thrown their way. It’s a lot in a short frame of time, and Teru thinks it’s amazing they even have time to sleep these days, though the recommended meditation Reborn has them doing is a good time to nap as long as Reborn doesn’t catch them in the act. 

Iemitsu’s birthday comes and goes with little fanfare from the twins; they suffer through happy birthdays and well wishes and don’t talk about the mafia, don’t ask why he lied for so long. It’s bearable, would be more so it wasn’t so loud in the background of wherever their wayward father is at.

Chiyo-obaasan leaves to head back home nearly as quickly as she showed up, and the same morning, Reborn tells them that he requested the presence of someone from Italy to assess Tsuna from an outsider’s perspective. That doesn’t help anything and leaves Tsuna on edge with anxiousness and anticipation that Teru can pick up on a mile away. The whole mafia thing isn’t good for anyone’s stress levels.

Their mom, at least, tries to help in little ways. Keeps the fridge stocked with their favorite drinks and popsicles and Teru’s seen five different first aid kits under their bathroom sink alone. She doesn’t mind listening to them rant about how weird everything is now. 

“Reborn is at least helpful, right?” She asks during one of these rants.

It’s nighttime, not yet time for a lesson, so they all have a moment to talk. 

Tsuna doesn’t answer immediately; he takes the question into serious consideration before nodding. “Yeah, actually. He does. I mean it’s still scary and stuff I still really don’t want to be a mafia boss, but since he showed up, things have been less fuzzy? Less confusing.”

 _Fuzzy_ , Tsuna always described the world like that when he was at a loss for words especially when he was younger and couldn’t make sense of anything the teachers taught. The world was too fuzzy, too hazy, everything harder to latch onto. Teru’s glad it’s getting better even if he can’t exactly figure out why. 

“That’s great, Tsu-kun.” Their mom sounds happy, so happy that it fills the brim of her words. She squeezes Tsuna into a hug. “It’s not a waste if it helps you. Nothing’s a waste if it helps.” 

* * *

The weird anticipation that Tsuna’s been feeling and that Teru’s been picking up on, comes to a head when a transfer student from Italy shows up in their classroom one day.

 _Gokudera Hayato_ , the homeroom teacher introduces the boy as and the rest of class _aahs_ and _oohs_ at the new point of interest. Teru mainly wants to know how he was allowed on the school grounds with that many accessories and his uniform so heavily modified.

Gokudera stomps forward, ignoring the teacher’s instructions and any questions thrown his way. He stops right next to Teru’s desk who sits right in front of Tsuna anyway, so he isn’t surprised when he hears his brother let out a squeak of alarm at the sudden attention. 

_He’s actually nice_ , Teru’s brain supplies which he easily chooses to ignore, and instead leans far enough back to feel Tsuna’s arms pressing against him and catches Gokudera's harsh gaze. The transfer student doesn’t look happy—then again, that might be a permanent look on his face. Teru gives him his friendliest smile he can muster—the same sort he’s seen his mom give people that made too many pointed comments about her lack of a husband at home and her parenting skills. 

Gokudera scoffs but makes his way to the empty seat. Tsuna heaves a sigh behind Teru and he can hear when his brother’s head makes a solid thunk on his desk.

Despite how the day goes, normal as it can be, Teru doesn’t think Gokudera’s stares let up. Tsuna, easily intimidated as he is, sticks close to Teru, clingy in ways he normally isn’t in school because he doesn’t want to cause problems with all the negative attention he tends to garner. Teru’s glad to act as a sort of shield, throwing unimpressed looks each time he catches Gokudera glaring. 

He probably would have said something by now, if not for the fact that Reborn definitely has a tiny hand in this. As often as Teru is around Tsuna’s training, he’s been given express instructions not to interfere too much, apparently—Tsuna’s the main priority, Teru a tagalong until they can figure out what they’re going to do with him.

It’s annoying, that’s what it is.

 **Kyoko:** are you coming to practice today??

The message comes at the end of the day; he and Tsuna both are saddled with cleanup duty so they’re the last to leave the class. Reborn finally showed up, using Tsuna as a perch while he points out any spots Tsuna might have missed. A mafia boss always does a thorough job or something like that.

 **Teru:** something came up!!  
 **Teru:** i won’t be able to!! sorry!!  
 **Kyoko:** teruuuuuu!!!! (⁎˃ᆺ˂)  
 **Kyoko:** you can’t keep doing this!!! sensei is getting upset!!!  
 **Kyoko:** is everything ok???  
 **Kyoko:** i saw how the new student looked at your brother! do you need onii-chan?? he likes tsuna-kun!! he’ll help!

Teru’s more surprised by the fact that Kyoko is finally using his brother’s first name more than anything. He ignores the sound of Tsuna tripping over something in the background—Reborn’s around, it’s normal—and quickly types another message.

 **Teru:** it’s fine! a misunderstanding, probably  
 **Teru:** i’ll practice extra hard this weekend though!!!  
 **Kyoko:** you better!!  
 **Kyoko:** let me know if you need help with anything!!  
 **Kyoko:** hana-chan too!! she’ll help! ( • ̀ω•́ )✧  
 **Teru:** thanks kyoko!  
 **Teru:** let me know when you get home  
 **Kyoko:** same!! be safe! tell tsuna-kun i said hi!!!

“Kyoko-chan says hi.” Teru says out loud, placing his phone back in his pocket, and grabbing the broom he set aside. 

Tsuna makes a noise Teru can’t identify, probably excitement or something. “Kyoko-chan said—” Too bad he gets cut off with a choked noise; Reborn’s doing, more than likely. 

Hopefully, they don’t make a bigger mess to clean up. 

* * *

Teru isn’t surprised to see Gokudera waiting for them once they get ready to leave the school grounds. Tsuna completely caught off guard, clings tighter to the back of Teru’s cardigan.

“Proper introductions are in order.” Reborn intones, perched on Teru’s shoulder. He easily breaks the weird atmosphere between the three boys. “This is Gokudera Hayato, an up and coming hitman in Italy. His nickname is Smokin’ Bomb Hayato.”

Tsuna groans. “Don’t tell me he actually uses bombs. How is that safe?”

“Don’t be stupid, Tsunayoshi. The mafia isn’t a safe place, so of course any test I throw at you will be high stakes.” 

“Well,” Teru cuts in. “We probably shouldn’t have this fight on school grounds. You know, so close to a building.”

Some clubs are still in session and Teru isn’t too keen on facing Hibari and the DC directly if someone does cause property damage. Reborn seems to agree without the need for the explanation anyway—already having a spot in mind, apparently. Just a small field across the street, but better than being right next to buildings. 

“Before we officially get started,” Reborn continues the thread of conversation once everyone is a good distance away from the school. “Gokudera, give me an honest opinion on Tsunayoshi.” 

“Weak.” Is the first thing Gokudera says since coming out here. He hasn’t done much either besides light a cigarette and looking as if he wants to be anywhere but here. “Spent most of the day hiding behind his brother. Definitely civilian. Definitely not fit to lead the Vongola.”

“Well, that’s fine!” Tsuna insists. “I don’t wanna be a mafia boss anyway. Someone else can take it!”

Gokudera raises an eyebrow, looks incredulous as if he can’t believe someone wouldn’t want to be handpicked to lead the Vongola. All things considered, he probably can’t wrap his brain around that. 

“Definitely civilian.” He repeats, turns his attention back to Reborn. “Can we start now? It’s getting late.”

“Go ahead.” Reborn says casually as if he’s not condoning a brawl between kids. Teru feels a tug on his hair, an indication to step back and does so. “You have permission to go all out.”

Tsuna’s protests are pitched high and in quick succession but ultimately ignored. Gokudera lights and tosses dynamite this way and that with practice ease, making Tsuna scramble back and run around the place. 

The noise is loud, practically deafening. The smell of smoke and whatever was used to make the bombs quickly fills the air. Teru hates it. 

“This is ridiculous.” Gokudera sounds annoyed; he lights another cigarette. Chain smoking at this age can’t be good for anyone. “Why don't you fight back instead of running around?”

Tsuna yelps when a bomb goes off too close to his feet for comfort. “Because I don’t want to fight! I don’t want anything to do with the mafia! Can’t we just stop this?”

That doesn’t appease Gokudera, he looks angrier at each word Tsuna says. “Ungrateful.” Teru thinks that’s what he hears, but it’s drowned out by the ringing in his ears and the stomach-dropping dread he has when Gokudera somehow pulls out more dynamite than what should be possible. “Now I’m getting serious. Better do something, or you just might die.”

Teru bites his lip so hard he thinks it might be bleeding by now. Gokudera keeps tossing intense waves of dynamite that Tsuna is having trouble maneuvering around at this point either because of how many there are at once or because he’s tired, it’s hard to tell—probably both. 

He should jump in there and put a stop to it; give Gokudera a good punch across the face and hope it knocks him out so they can end this finally. 

Before Teru can act on anything, however, he feels a sharp tug to his hair that makes him turn his head. Reborn stares at him, pebble black eyes are seemingly fathomless. 

“Don’t interfere.” The hitman says, Leon-formed gun already in hand. “This is Tsunayoshi’s fight. You can’t realistically jump in and save him every time he’s having trouble. He has to learn to stick up for himself at some point.” 

Teru bares his teeth, upset about all of this, but he knows arguing with Reborn, especially when Reborn has a gun in his hands, isn’t the best thing to do. He huffs, crossing his arms instead, doesn’t care if he looks like a petulant child. 

Of course, because the universe hates them and isn’t fair, the whole thing goes sideways in a matter of seconds. Gokudera trips or something, either way, lit dynamite falls around him, ready to blow. Tsuna stops his panicked running and turns around sharply because Tsuna has always been oddly too kind for his own good. Reborn shoots the gun at the same time. Teru’s ears hurt. 

He doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to it, the casual way Reborn shoots bullets into his brother. But Teru doesn’t have time to process that particular train of thought right now, not when his brother is on fire again and screaming and snuffing out bombs like a man possessed. It’s over soon but at the same time, not fast enough. Tsuna looks exhausted. Gokudera looks strangely elated for someone that nearly got blown to bits because he was overambitious. 

Teru jogs up to the two just in time to see Gokudera slam his head into the dirt as he bows. 

“My initial observation of you was wrong, Tenth!” Gokudera is unsurprisingly very loud with his praise. “Truly, you are the one fit to lead the Vongola! I will gladly follow you for the rest of my life!”

Tsuna yelps and hastily finishes shoving his arms through Teru’s cardigan to preserve some of his modesty. Maybe they should look into carrying extra uniforms around. “What are you talking about!? Reborn, what is he talking about!?”

“It’s a common practice in the mafia.” Reborn answers. “You defeated Gokudera in combat, so he’s now your subordinate. However, since you also saved his life, his life is essentially yours.”

Teru sighs into his hands, quite loudly. “This is so fucked up.” He needs a nap or to sleep for the next twelve hours, whichever his body accepts first. He crouches down to Gokudera’s level and pokes his shoulder.

He seems just as happy to deal with Teru, which is a little off-putting given that they probably would have fistfought if Teru had his way. “Yes, honorable brother?”

Gross, way too formal. “Okay first, Tsuna isn’t the Tenth yet, technically, so you really don’t have to call him that. Besides, it’s a secret, right? Right Tsuna?”

“Oh? Oh! Right, yeah! You can just call us by our names!”

Gokudera nods as if he understands everything now, “Of course, Sawada-sama!”

“No!” Tsuna practically shrieks.

Teru sighs, again. “That isn’t gonna work. There’s more than one Sawada walking around here, you know? Call me Teru and call him Tsuna.”

“Right,” Gokudera nods again, a professional bobble-head in the making, extremely confident and still very happy. “Tsuna-sama and Teru-sama, it is an honor. Please call me Hayato.”

“You can drop the honorific, Hayato-kun.” Teru can’t believe this guy was a threat to their lives less than ten minutes ago. “We’re friends now.”

That seems to take Gokudera—Hayato, now—off guard the most. As if he really, truly, can’t believe this is happening to him right now. Teru wasn’t expecting him to be so emotional.

“If you three are done.” Goes Reborn, sounding annoyed. “That was easily one of the worst fights I’ve ever seen.” 

Tsuna instinctually gives an apology. Teru rolls his eyes and helps Hayato stand to his feet. 

“We can talk about that later, right?” Teru interrupts. “Mama’s probably worried by now, and I don’t wanna stick around here any longer.”

Someone probably called the authorities or the DC about all the noise. Luckily, Tsuna picks up on it quicker than anyone else and corrals everyone else to follow him home—Tsuna dragging Teru who’s dragging along Gokudera despite his protesting. 

Mama won’t mind an extra person to feed dinner to anyway.

* * *

True to Teru’s assumptions, Nana doesn’t mind—rather, she sees the messy group of kids at her door, sighs fondly, and tells them to wash up before they eat and allows a rare time for them to have dinner in their room. 

She particularly dotes on Hayato as soon as she spots him, more than likely excited that they have a friend in the house or maybe she can tell he’s in the mafia business too. Either way, it leaves their new guest extremely flustered and entirely overwhelmed that he practically trips over himself in his haste to duck out and into the shower once it’s free.

Once everything is said and done, there’s a spare futon on the floor of the twin’s room and Hayato is borrowing a pair of Teru’s shorts and a long sleeve shirt of Tsuna’s that’s a couple of sizes too big. Apparently, he wasn’t expecting to stay in Namimori, so he didn’t find a permanent space to stay. 

“Just stay here for a bit.” Tsuna says, words cut off as he lets out a hiss as he continues to rub healing salve onto his hands. “Mom won’t mind.”

Hayato shakes his head so hard his glasses nearly fly off his face. Honestly, the fact that he needs glasses to see and regularly wears contacts is easily the most surprising thing about him. He probably tries really hard to look cool instead of like a textbook nerd.

“I wouldn’t want to impose!” He insists.

Teru rolls over to face the two, half curled around his pillow, and nearly falling off the bed as he does so. He needs to get up and do homework, but whatever. “It’s not imposing if we offered in the first place.”

“But your mother—”

“Won’t mind.” The twins cut him off at the same time.

Teru adds, “Besides, I already asked just to make sure it was alright. As long as you don’t cause property damage, it’ll be fine.”

“I would never disrespect your beautiful home like that!” He defends immediately, pausing briefly in thought. “Does Nana-sama know about the bombs?”

“No,” Tsuna answers, now working on wrapping his hands with gauze. He’s a little too good at that. “but she knows you’re from Italy and that Reborn asked you to come here. We told her about the mafia stuff, so…”

Things click for Hayato quickly after that. “Amazing, you must trust her a lot.”

“Sure,” Teru exhales, straightening up with and hopping off the bed. Conversations about trusting parents are too heavy for him to deal with right now. “I’m getting homework snacks; what do you guys want?”

“Teru, we just ate.” Tsuna sighs and straightens up the first aid kit.

Teru rolls his eyes and ruffles his brother’s hair as he walks past him. “So, we’re gonna be up super late catching up on everything anyway. Might as well stock up in here.”

Tsuna relents easily. “Fine! Grab a few sodas and the Jagariko. Hayato-kun, have you ever had them before?”

Teru walks out of the room before he can hear a reply. No one else is downstairs besides Reborn, drinking a nightly cup of coffee. Decaf, Teru hopes since it’s late. 

“No lessons?” Teru asks as he walks into the kitchen, cutting some of the effort by choosing to slide in his socks. Mom isn’t around to tell him it’ll wear holes in them.

“Gokudera’s involvement today was enough of a lesson.” Reborn answers. “We’ll continue tomorrow as scheduled.”

 _Of course_ , Teru doesn’t say and instead goes to grab the snacks and drinks, arms quickly getting full. 

“Tsuna could have died today.” His traitorous mouth says instead, but he decides to roll with it. “Hayato-kun could have died today too.”

Reborn is casual about the strangest things. Teru thinks he might hate him. “But he didn’t, neither of them did. You don’t trust me to keep my word, do you Yoshiteru?”

Teru shrugs, bites his lip. He thought he got rid of _that_ bad habit. “Sorry, I know what you said—”

“Don’t be.” Reborn cuts in smoothly, taking a sip of his coffee before continuing. “That’s the sort of hesitation that can save your life and others. Not wanting to trust anyone that poses a threat to your brother, that’s good instincts.

Well, at least it’s not unfounded, at least Reborn agrees with him on some level. Still, Teru knows Reborn isn’t the worst thing to happen to Tsuna; he’s probably the best really, at this rate. Not even Tsuna’s own family could have helped him, it seems like. Teru couldn’t help him all those years ago. Teru can’t help him now.

Nothing’s changed.

 _He_ hasn’t changed.

What’s he doing here then? 

What terrible feelings he doesn’t have time to deal with. Teru swallows them back down before they bubble up to the surface. 

“Thanks, Reborn-san.” Teru says, falsely positive. He makes his way back up the stairs so he doesn’t have to hear a response if there is one. 

Reborn is smart. Teru doesn’t want to know if he’s caught on already to something Teru himself doesn’t even want to face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my brain said i will no longer push back gokudera showing up (he was originally supposed to show up in chapter 2 or 3) and here he is! i love son boy!!! canon says he needs reading glasses but i say he needs them to see and is actually the type of nerd that will make fun of other nerds bc he's rude and likes to cause problems on purpose. also kind of dangerous for his ears to around loud explosives all the time, huh?
> 
> we are now officially off the rails with this au, tasty. i hope y'all enjoyed this!!! please let me know; i love each and every comment i get!!! it makes me so happy; i regularly reread the ones i have! thank you!! goodbye!!! i'm very tired!!!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here i am, back at it again with the boys. my feelings are "eh" about this chapter probably bc nothing and yet a lot happens. it's dialogue heavy; teru gets chatty but not by choice. it felt nice writing this once i got over the initial "how the heck am i gonna introduce new stuff again" and had to rewrite the beginning three times and cut out different things that were going to happen, but are now pushed back and shuffled around. canon is just a suggestion at this point. please enjoy!!!

Hayato’s presence brings immediate changes to the twins’ lives, whirlwind in the form of a boy that he is. He slots himself cleanly, though a bit awkwardly at first, into the Sawada dynamic and completely endears himself to Nana in a matter of days—not a very hard feat given how quick she was to dote on him the first night he stayed over. In the initial week of his arrival alone, Teru has counted five different points during a conversation where his mom, subtly or otherwise, insisted that Hayato should stay in the spare bedroom of the house rather than go out looking for his own place.

The boy relented in a stubborn alley cat way of his that Teru is starting to figure out—prickly and bitey on the outside but oddly quick to warm to certain people if shown just the right amount of affection and care. As such, Hayato gets most of his stuff shipped over from Italy and moves the spare futon into the bedroom until they can get him an actual bed despite his protest insisting that the futon is fine.

Hayato proclaimed that he accepted the repeated offers so that he can protect the twins better and save up more money to get an actual place in a year or two once he finds a job since rent isn’t cheap no matter where you live. Teru doesn’t call him out on the maybe lie, and Tsuna just looks relieved that his new friend won’t be living alone in a new country at just thirteen.

It makes Teru realize, and Tsuna must realize it too, how uncaring the mafia is for wayward kids no matter their age if Hayato is surprised at basic acts of human decency and the idea of living alone doesn’t bother him.

The new addition to their lives causes Reborn shifts in his tactics as well, something about since Tsuna’s Family is already growing, then that’s an indication that his training shouldn’t be as lax as it has been. (Tsuna denies all points about it ever being lax and gets a foam ball to his face for his troubles and backtalk.)

Textbook information about the mafia that the twins had to learn before, is now tested during a mix of physical training to save time and sharpen focus and quicken response time. Teru doesn’t have to suffer through most of the new physical stuff by virtue of already being in a sport though he wishes he did in some cases since it’s more than just stamina and balance being taught.

Hayato can already light a Flame—a necessity given the fact that he made himself into a named hitman at such a young age and a display shone by using one of the many rings on his fingers—and that was enough prompting for Reborn to start teaching Tsuna how to light his own without help. 

“The bullets were a preliminary necessity, so they aren’t needed as much anymore.” Reborn says when Teru asks about it during one such training session; he doesn’t know why Reborn switching tactics so soon have caught him off guard. Reborn is a tutor and Tsuna is not his first student. The hitman knows what he’s doing. “As much as I’d rather not admit it, there are going to be some cases when I’m not around to immediately help you kids out. It’s better to be realistic about this hence teaching Tsunayoshi this stuff early to heighten his chances of survival.” 

Hayato opted out today saying something about how he wanted to work on a different type of weapon and a new technique he’s been mumbling about all week, so it’s just Tsuna today. Teru watches his brother’s finger spark a wick of flame, bright orange and flickering. It doesn’t last long, only a few seconds, but it's the first one of the day. Lighting them is hard, Tsuna had told Teru after his first try, and it makes him bone-tired immediately after. Better than the full body aches he got after getting shot by the bullets, but still, not the best for two-hour long training sessions Reborn is insisting on. At least it’s a lot less destructive than when the hitman first started handling the tutoring gig. Though Teru believes that was in part Nana’s influence since it did cause some room damage. 

Teru’s achingly proud of Tsuna for making it so far so quickly and something else he can’t quite put a name to. 

He hikes his gym bag higher on his shoulder. He needs to leave soon, or he’ll be late; it’s a Sunday, and he promised Kyoko to help her run through a new floor routine and get some extra practice in himself where he’s been slacking. He doesn’t think about how Reborn wants to start teaching them Italian tomorrow night as well. 

Still though, he can’t help but ask. “Ever gonna teach me that stuff?”

Reborn hums, clicks his pen, and writes something down on his clipboard. He’s dressed like a PE coach; Teru wonders if all his costumes and clothes are custom made and where he gets them from. 

“You keep asking me that.”

“Persistence is key, right?” Teru knows he can be stubborn on the best days and downright annoying on the worst; he’s a bad mix of curious and restless these days, however. 

“There are a couple more things I need to get in order, actually. I don’t care for doing things by halves, so it’s taking some time. Ask again in a week or two; no sooner though, or I’ll give you the same answer.”

That’s surprising, to say the least; Teru was expecting another avoided answer or something close to that. He knows Tsuna knows something that he doesn’t, definitely told by Reborn. He can tell in his brother’s shifted gaze and how he sometimes looks at Teru with a mix of complicated emotions or as if he might cry at any minute. The thing about Tsuna though is even if he isn’t the best liar around, when he doesn’t want you to know certain information, then nothing can get him to talk. Teru only got a swing at his brother’s more physically aggressive bullies less because Tsuna pointed them out and more because Teru caught them in the act and reacted accordingly. 

Teru doesn’t know how to feel about the high possibility of Reborn asking his brother to stay tight-lipped about something regarding him, or them, rather, but it’s not like he can do anything about it now. He’s trying to get into the groove of this trusting Reborn thing—it helps that the bullets shot at his brother now are practically harmless suction darts and foam.

“Alright,” Teru relents, pitches his voice in a brighter mood than he actually feels. He waves to Tsuna when he catches his eye; his brother looks embarrassed to be so sweaty already. “I’ll leave you guys to it then, but I’ll ask again in a couple of weeks.”

That much is a promise Teru plans on keeping. 

* * *

Sunday practice ends late enough that the sun is in the midst of setting, painting the sky in dusky blues and soft pinks. Teru gives Kyoko a piggyback ride for the first two blocks away from the gym they practice at since she complained about how much her legs hurt, and Teru likes to think he’s a decent friend at times. 

“I sent Hana-chan the video.” Kyoko says once she has two feet firmly on the ground; Teru keeps an arm looped through hers while she taps away at her phone. 

Hana usually hangs out with them on Sundays be it for practice or doing leftover homework or just hanging out for a few hours, but a weekend trip to Tokyo with her dads stopped her from joining—something about a birthday, Teru heard. She did want to see the bare bones of Kyoko’s new routine though to possibly give any pointers. Hana knows a lot about gymnastics through mitosis and her own research. She claimed it was a necessity since two of her friends are into it. 

“Are you gonna tell the coach about it, or is it just something for fun?” 

“I’m not sure.” Kyoko sighs, shoving her phone back in her bag; her growing collection of phone charms still poke through. “I still have to get used to the ribbons, so if I get cleared for the competitive season it might be for the artistic this year. What about you?”

“Oh, I might not do serious competitions this year.” Teru answers with a shrug, ignoring Kyoko’s shocked exclamation. “I’m still having trouble balancing practice with all the stuff that’s been going on recently, you know. Might as well give the spot to someone serious about it if I have to.” 

He sees her nod out the corner of his eye; at least they agree with that. “You have been really busy lately. You and Tsuna-kun, actually. That new tutor is tough, huh?”

“That’s one way to put it.” Teru keeps the sigh out of his voice, doesn’t want to worry Kyoko any more than he already has. Her checkups on his wellbeing are coming in with an increased frequency. The next stage will be outright questioning at some point or another, more stubborn than the last one. “He’s a great tutor, so he doesn’t cut any corners. It’s a little overwhelming at times.” 

“Remind him that you need breaks every now and again.” She says gently, giving his arm a pat. “It’s like I tell Onii-san all the time: you’re liable to burn out if you aren’t careful. You can’t really afford that if you do a sport.” 

“He takes breaks?” Teru clings onto the new point of focus, but it is an honest question. He can’t imagine Ryohei taking breaks.

“Gosh, I know!” She laughs, hastening their pace with a small skip and hop. “He never seems like he does, does he? Luckily, I can get him to spend at least an afternoon with me every other week. It’s harder in the summer with the break around the corner, but I have a plan for that.”

“Sounds devious.”

“It isn’t!” He hears her practically pout. “I’m just gonna teach him how to swim and say it’ll help with his training. It’s not a lie; you know that. Hana-chan said it was a good idea.”

“Hana thinks any idea that can trick a boy into doing something is a good one.” Teru remembers very clearly the time Hana somehow got a different boy to pay for her milk an entire week straight. No wonder she thinks people in their age range are idiots.

“I’m serious about the breaks though, Teru-kun.” Kyoko continues, sharper than most people would want to give her credit for. “You and Tsuna-kun look super tired lately. I’m surprised you don’t fall asleep in class.”

Teru knows the only reason that hasn’t happened to him is that he drinks at least two cups of coffee before getting to school. Tsuna has started the habit of taking quick naps between periods and a longer nap during most of lunchtime with Hayato acting as a guard of sorts. Teru had spotted them underneath a stairwell of all places just a couple of days ago but decided to leave it be. Undisturbed sleep is a gift. 

He only gives a tuneless hum and nod in response; Kyoko takes it with a huff and steers them into the conbini they frequent after practice when they’re on this side of town. 

Kyoko immediately goes off to the bakery aisle, always a fan of tooth-rotting sweets after practice. Teru grabs a few cold bottles of coffee to restock and makes a mental note to take Hayato into one of the stores so he can grab something he wants to try instead of relying on someone else to hand him a new snack he may or may not care for. He opted out on the twins’ last snack run saying something about being busy, but Teru was half convinced Hayato was just weirdly nervous about encroaching or something like that.

He can’t stay for long either, having promised this morning to pick up a food order for dinner since the ramen shop is a nice little midpoint between where Teru is now and home. A glance at the phone and the family chat lets him know that the food should be done by the time he gets his purchases rung up and walks the rest of the few blocks to the shop. 

Teru finds Kyoko dithering over what bag of cream puffs to get; a hard choice indeed. He grabs a variety bag with little hesitation, something nice for dessert, and gently knocks their shoulders together to get her attention. 

“I gotta go, mama has a ramen order waiting that I need to pick up.” They usually part ways here anyway if they don’t plan on spending the rest of the day together.

Kyoko nods before turning a bright-eyed gaze on him. “Before you go, strawberry cream or custard?”

“Custard is always good.” He answers without pause; Kyoko should know he’ll always choose custard if given the choice, but she seems pleased anyway. 

“You’re right!” She grabs a pack and neatly places it in the basket she got at some point. “I promised Onii-san and Auntie I’d get them some stuff while I’m out, so I’ll be here a bit longer. Text me when you get home.”

“Of course.” Teru says like he always does because he always will, or Kyoko spam his phone until he does. She cares a lot; it always makes him happy.

He departs with a small wave and makes it up to the cash register and one transaction later he’s out of the store. The sun hasn’t completely set yet, but the darkening sky means the weather has cooled down a bit even if the humidity from the rain earlier this morning is still clinging to the air. 

Teru barely gets two steps into his walk before he’s stopped by the sound of his name being called. It’s common enough, however, so he keeps walking, stopping only when he hears it a third time and followed by the sound of loud footsteps behind him in an almost rush. 

Turning, he’s surprised to see Yamamoto Takeshi of all people jogging up to him, weaving through the crowd easily, and a perpetual bright smile splitting his face in two. 

“You know, for someone so short, you do move kinda fast.” Yamamoto says instead of a greeting or explaining himself.

He has a grocery bag hanging from the crook of his elbow and a sports bag hanging on his back.

Teru raises an eyebrow and chooses to ignore the comment about his height. Yamamoto hit a growth spurt early anyway, so most people in their grade are shorter than him. It isn’t as though Teru minds his height anyway; makes gymnastics a bit easier. 

“I didn’t realize you were calling me.” _Teru_ is a common enough name and he doesn’t have a reason to recognize Yamamoto’s voice out of a crowd in public. They’ve never spoken to each other outside of class and barely in class, besides. “Do you need anything?”

“Nah,” The grin on his face hasn’t faltered yet. “I just noticed we were walking the same way and thought it’d be cool to walk together.”

Well, he can’t exactly stop someone from walking the same way as him; besides, the company might actually be nice for a bit. Plus, Yamamoto has always been weirdly familiar in the same way that Reborn and Hayato were familiar before Teru got to know them better—a dream haze sort of way that makes him instinctively and immediately want to trust them despite common sense and initial meetings pointing otherwise. If he does somehow get wrapped into this whole mess, then Teru might as well warm up to the idea of having Yamamoto around. 

“Sure,” Teru finally answers with a bob of his head. “I was heading to the ramen shop and then home right after, but some company would be fine.”

Teru doesn’t know how Yamamoto’s smile gets any bigger, but it does. At least walking with the other boy means that Teru isn’t stuck in silence for the duration. He always knew Yamamoto was chatty and used to carrying a conversation since he’s always surrounded by people but being subjected to it is something else. It’s oddly calming though, a lulling sense of security that practically sinks down to Teru’s bones. 

_It’s because he’s a Rain_ , an unhelpful part of his brain supplies; it’s information that Teru pushes away.

“I have a question, actually.” Yamamoto ceases the topic about the new batting cages he just spent the entire day at. 

Teru hums and starts crossing the intersection to get to the ramen place just across the street; Yamamoto, of course, follows behind. “Is it about baseball?”

He gets a laugh in response. “Am I that easy to figure out? But yeah, it’s about baseball. I was going to ask Tsuna about it, but you might be able to help too.”

Interesting, one of the school idols planning on asking his brother for advice. Not many people have positively given Tsuna the time of day, but Teru guesses that his favor seems to be going up. Then again, this is Yamamoto.

Still though, “Tsuna and I are twins, yeah, but that doesn’t mean you’ll get the same answers out of both of us. If you want Tsuna grade advice, ask Tsuna.” Besides, Teru knows his brother would be over the moon if Yamamoto talked to him.

“I guess, but—oh, here let me get that.” Teru barely has to duck to get under Yamamoto’s arm and through the door of the shop—must be nice being tall. “Tsuna’s been so reliable lately, and I’ve noticed you’ve always watched over him, so it’s perfect.”

There’s a three-person wait at the take-out order side of the counter, but Teru doesn’t mind and slides neatly behind the last person. They don’t get ramen that often, or eat out that often for that matter, but Tsuna seems insistent on getting Hayato to try Namimori authentic cuisine, and mom is indulgent with him about his little quest. She’s probably just glad that Tsuna is hanging out with someone that isn’t a family member.

“Go ahead then, if you’re sure.” Teru answers, grabbing his wallet out of his gym bag. 

Yamamoto doesn’t answer immediately, the only sound being the chatter of patrons and cooking of food and shouting of orders back and forth. It’s quiet between them long enough that Teru gets a little worried and turns to fully face Yamamoto. The expression on other’s face isn’t one he’s ever seen before; then again, he doesn’t know Yamamoto, not enough to take stock of his expressions outside of his default in the classroom. 

He looks lost in thought; Teru gently nudges him to get his attention again. “If you don’t actually wanna talk, then you don’t have to.”

Tsuna gets like that too sometimes—all his words seem to dry up along with his motivation to do even the most basic things. Teru doesn’t remember when it started, just that it happened one day and happens again on the occasion. The most he can do is check on Tsuna if he would rather be alone or quietly exist next to him if he’d rather have company. 

“Got lost in thought, sorry.” Yamamoto laughs lightly, finally, a hand rubbing at the back of his neck. “I’m just worried about baseball. I’m getting worse at it.”

There’s one more person before Teru has to get his order. Good thing too, since Yamamoto’s statement throws him for a loop, and he has to bite down a reflexive _I doubt that_ because team aces don’t start getting worse out of the blue. From what Teru’s picked up, their school is still winning games by landslides. Baseball is a team sport, however, so it doesn’t necessarily mean Yamamoto has been the deciding factor like he’s always seemed to have been. 

Teru wants to know how Tsuna—who detests the idea of team sports due to everyone always blaming him for their losses and everything else that comes with the bullying during PE—was supposed to give appropriate advice for this? Maybe he’ll ask about that later.

“Can you elaborate for me?” Teru asks instead; as much as he wants to ask all the questions knocking around in his head, Yamamoto does seem serious about getting some form of advice from him. 

“My average is dropping overall, which sucks. The team is relying on me, so I don’t wanna let them down, but I don't see myself improving any time soon.” His tone is heavy in a way it isn’t during class. He is carrying a lot of weight; the entire team, apparently. “Captain and coach talked about removing me from the starting line until I get back to where I was.”

Teru nods and hums softly, not answering immediately partially because he needs to give this some thought and mainly because he has to do the transaction for the order. Yamamoto surprisingly, or unsurprisingly—really—he’s oddly helpful, grabs most of the bags the food is in. It’s a five-person order and Teru has other bags from the store to carry as well, so he doesn’t complain or deny the help. They leave the restaurant; Teru gives a small bow and a quick apology to a man with white hair he nearly runs into on the way out. 

The sun’s set by now, but the shop lights in the district and streetlamps are enough to see by.

“Have you thought about taking a break?” Teru finally says, thinking back on the advice Kyoko gave him just today. Now if only he could follow his own words one of these days—stubborn as he is. 

“I don’t think a break is going to help me improve.” Yamamoto doesn’t sound exactly convinced but he keeps his tone polite enough. Teru isn’t surprised by the response.

“I’m not talking about a complete break, but maybe don’t try so hard.” Actually, that sounds bad too, but he can roll with it. “You’re great at baseball, sure, but you’ve been playing it for forever, yeah?”

“Started playing when I was six.”

“It’s great that you’ve stuck with something for so long, so of course you’re gonna plateau for a bit. It’s not uncommon for people to take a break from sports or whatever they love in general.” As someone that switches hobbies and interests every few months, it’s the same principle being applied that Teru is familiar with. “You don’t see baseball as an obligation, do you?”

“Of course not, I love the game.” Yamamoto says with such surety, no one should ever doubt him. His tone tapers a bit though as he continues. “It’s just been hard lately, I guess.”

“If you keep pushing yourself to improve, you’re liable to get burned out. Suddenly, the thing you love becomes a chore and all the enjoyment falls to the wayside, but of course, you keep going because you’ve been doing it for so long.” Yamamoto doesn’t seem as though he’s done any other sport besides baseball and whatever mandatory ones everyone has to suffer through during PE.

“I figured if I practice more, I’d get better though. Isn’t that how it works?” 

Teru pauses for a bit, picks his next words carefully, and says them clearly. He doesn’t want Yamamoto to think he’s pulling thoughts out of thin air to pass on as advice. “It can be, but you also need to properly manage your time. You can’t practice all day every day and expect to be alright at the end; human bodies have limits, and it’s important to listen to those.”

Teru thinks about the Dying Will Bullet and how it forces the body to push past those limits; how it leaves Tsuna aching after each use. It’s a dangerous weapon if it falls into the wrong hands for that very reason, Reborn had said. 

No time to think about all that. 

The boys cross into the quieter and less brightly lit neighborhood; Teru continues. “You practice one day, tired since you’ve been practicing all week without proper breaks, and all it takes is one slip up for an accident to happen, and all of a sudden you get hurt. What then?”

“No baseball.” An answer without hesitation.

“No baseball,” Teru echoes with a nod. “For a set amount of time at the very least and a permanent injury at worst.” 

He lets that hang in the air; lets Yamamoto contemplate what was just said. Silence settles between them again, only filled by the sound of their sneakers on the pavement and common night sounds filling the air.

“Are you talking from experience?” Yamamoto asks.

Teru wonders if his advice was too specific or if Yamamoto is just that curious about it—he seems like the type to do better with examples anyway. 

“My coach is serious about us taking breaks when we need to since gymnastics involves a lot of risky maneuvers even when it’s just practicing the simple stuff.” After all, the first thing they learned was how to properly fall to lessen damage after inevitable accidents. “One time, I was on the trampoline, and I busted my lip, sliced my gum, and lost a baby tooth because I slammed my face down on the metal framing.” He has a scar too, but it’s pretty faded by now after a couple of years since the accident. Teru shakes his head thinking about his own stupidity. “Anyways, could have avoided it if I told her I was too tired to try anything new and a bit more complicated instead of pushing myself. Got a lecture from everyone and their grandmother it felt like, so now I’m much more careful.”

“Because you don’t wanna get hurt again?”

That is the normal response, isn’t it? Not something Teru personally considers, so he shrugs in response. “A little? I don’t really care if I get hurt, but I’m extra careful about it now because I don’t enjoy worrying people. My mom cried so hard when she found out what happened to me, and almost pulled me out of gymnastics. I could have broken my neck, you know. It’s nice to know that I have people that care so much, but I still felt like a burden about a silly and completely avoidable mistake.”

“Sorry.” Teru blurts, suddenly flustered when he realizes what he just said since Yamamoto is silent again for some reason or another. It usually isn’t a habit of his to overshare especially when his feelings are concerned. Not even his family knows about that last bit, that’s for sure. “You asked me for advice and here I am spilling a minor traumatic event from my childhood.”

Yamamoto laughs; it sounds different than the ones before—softer, maybe. “No, it’s fine. I get it though, a little, I think. If I get hurt, I’ll definitely worry my old man more than anyone else. I just don't know where to start with taking a break; I only really hang out with the baseball team, so that might not help.”

“You’re nice, Yamamoto-kun.” Teru says easily because it’s true from what he’s seen. “Anyone would love to hang out with you and be your friend, I think.”

“What about you? I mean, you’ve already taken me home; I think that’s pretty friendly already.”

That causes Teru to blink once, then twice. They just stopped walking and a proper look tells him that they’re right in front of the Sawada residence. Weird how muscle memory works when on the way home; he didn’t even notice.

“Shit, sorry.” He sighs. “I didn’t know you’d follow me all the way here. You probably need to get back home, huh?”

Yamamoto shrugs, seeming not at all bothered by the detour. “Dad likes to hang out with his fishing buddies on Sundays, so he doesn’t come home until after dinner time.”

“I mean if you’re sure.” He says slowly, slipping through the gate and up to the door. 

“You don’t even have to feed me. I bought my own food while I was out.” Nice of him to be considerate, not that it’ll work. 

“Mama is gonna take one look at you and try to feed you anyway.” As she does with everyone that walks through the door. Food is the quickest way to the heart, she had told Teru once.

The door opens as soon as the boys step foot onto the porch, Nana at the entryway. She has a sixth sense for the twins, that or she was keeping watch through the window since she was expecting Teru back soon. 

“Welcome home,” She greets brightly, stepping out the way. “And who’s your friend, Teru-kun? You should have told me you were bringing someone over, I would have made something or ordered for him too.” 

“Don’t worry about it, Sawada-san.” Yamamoto reassures her. “It was unexpected.”

Teru hands the bags off to his mom and shoves the shoes off his feet with minimal stumbling. “Ran into him right after practice, so he tagged along. Yamamoto Takeshi, he’s a classmate.” 

“Ah, so you know Tsu-kun and Hayato-kun too? That’s wonderful!” Nana giggles, pleased as punch. She pauses in front of the stairs and shouts very clearly, “Boys! Come down and eat. Teru-kun’s back and he brought a friend.”

Yamamoto follows behind Teru still, setting the bags he was carrying on the table. “The new student lives with you guys?”

Teru slides into the kitchen to retrieve a stack of bowls and starts setting up for dinner. “Oh, yeah. We’re hosting him.” The lie is an easy one to tell; that’s what Reborn said Hayato’s papers say anyway. “Tsuna’s tutor is from Italy too, so it works out, you know?”

“Whoa, sounds cool.” Yamamoto takes the bags out of Nana’s hands and starts pulling out the food. She asks if he’d be fine with leftover curry that’ll need to be heated up; he’s quick to assure her that it’s more than fine. 

Teru’s a little taken aback about how well he started taking up tasks without being asked; then again, he’s pretty sure Yamamoto’s dad has a restaurant of a sort, so maybe setting tables and getting food ready is practically second nature at this point.

He doesn’t have time to question it before Tsuna and Hayato come down the stairs one after the other.

“Teru, welcome home. Did you pick up—” Tsuna cuts off mid-question, double-taking when he spots the new addition in the house. “What’s Yamamoto-kun doing here?”

Teru gently hip checks his brother out the way so he can finish setting the table. “He followed me home.”

“What, like a dog?” Hayato immediately pipes up.

He doesn’t look very happy to have a stranger here, but Teru decides that he isn’t going to deal with Hayato’s heightened suspicion right now. And neither will he mention the guard dog persona he takes up when he thinks one of the twins is being threatened. 

Yamamoto obviously doesn’t care about the glare being sent his way, laughing and flexing a bicep. “More like an ox. I helped carry the food here.”

That immediately changes Hayato’s tune; he looks one part disappointed in himself and another part heartbroken for some reason or another. “Teru-san, you should have told me you needed help. I would have gladly dropped everything.”

“Drop the _-san_ ,” Teru huffs, retreating into the kitchen to wash his hands; Yamamoto follows, again; Teru chooses not to think much of it. He raises his voice to be heard over the microwave and the running water. “and I thought you were helping Tsuna with biology homework today. How’d that go?”

Tsuna lets out a loud sigh and Teru can hear him plop down dramatically in his seat. “It went. Reborn helped too, so you know…”

He nods even though his brother can’t see it and finishes drying his hands. “Understandable. Where’s Reborn-san anyway?”

“You mean the baby at the table?” Yamamoto asks, head inclined at said baby that is suddenly at the table. 

Teru sighs. Tsuna practically jumps out of his seat. No one knows when the hitman got there it seems. Actually, maybe Yamamoto did? Teru doesn’t want to think of any possible implications of that. 

“Yep.” Maybe he’ll think about that later, or never. “He’s the tutor.”

Yamamoto whistles low, obviously very impressed. “Kids these days must be super smart, huh?”

“Or just weird.” Tsuna very bravely grumbles only to regret it a half second later when Reborn turns his pebble black gaze onto him.

“Watch the lip, Tsunayoshi.” 

Nana has started a no guns, fake or otherwise, rule at the table even if Reborn only likes to use them for intimidation tactics in the house these days. Teru’s convinced that’s the only reason Tsuna’s started his habitual backtalk again, even though he never really stopped in the first place. He just says it louder now.

Tsuna’s ruder than people give him credit for; they think Teru’s the meaner twin. He’s just the quicker to anger one. 

Everyone settles down enough to sit around the table and look over their food to make sure they grabbed the right order. Yamamoto looks very happy about the homemade curry in front of him. Teru's stomach growls at the thought of finally eating after a solid day of work. 

“Ah, Teru, don’t open that one.” Tsuna interrupts the process before it can even begin. “I think it’s mine. I have yours.”

“I wouldn’t have eaten it, but sure, sure. Stop fretting.” They do a switch, made easy by the fact that they’re sitting right next to each other.

“You allergic to something in that one, Teru or do you just not like it?” Yamamoto is the one to voice the question, but the other two not sure of what’s going on look at the twins curiously. 

Teru, who has noodles hanging out his mouth, shrugs instead of a proper answer. 

Nana answers for him though. “Teru-kun takes after my father. He has a red meat allergy, but pork’s the worst for him. Even the smell can throw him off sometimes.”

He huffs out his nose at the surprised expressions the other boys give him. His allergies aren’t a big deal, but people always give him weird looks after they find out. Apparently, it’s one thing to refuse to eat certain meats and another thing entirely that he can’t eat them even if he wanted to. 

“The smell only bothers me if it’s cooking and no windows are open or whatever. It’s not that big of a deal.” He explains with a shrug. “Tsuna’s lactose intolerant, let’s talk about that.”

“Hey!” Tsuna objects and Teru feels a kick to his ankle. He tries not to choke on a laugh. 

Hayato once again looks extremely disappointed and oddly alarmed by the new information. “Tsuna-san, I didn’t know. You bought me ice cream yesterday. We had ice cream yesterday!” 

“Drop the _-san_ , Hayato-kun.” Tsuna sighs, dropping his boiled egg into Teru’s bowl. “I knew we were getting ice cream, so I took pills for it anyway. It was fine.”

Teru rolls his eyes because Tsuna is a liar who lies and seems to have conveniently forgotten that he complained about a tummy ache all night. Tsuna ran out of lactose pills a while ago, but he hates taking pills anyway, so he’d rather just deal with the consequences like an idiot. 

“Probably shouldn’t play roulette with dairy products like that, Tsuna.” However, Teru is a nice brother and won’t put his twin on blast at the dinner table. Mainly because Hayato will mother hen worse than their actual mom at this rate, and him knowing about their respective allergies will only kick that up a notch.

“There are many more exciting ways to play roulette anyway.” Reborn pipes up at the worst possible moment.

Nana gets a complicated look on her face, and Teru knows that the smile on her face is a little forced right now. 

“Like with water guns!” Yamamoto agrees; Teru envies his confidence and lack of hitmen with real guns in his life. 

“No, you—” Teru delivers a swift kick to Hayato’s shin and subtly points his chopsticks at his mom. At least Hayato is quick on an uptake. “Yeah! With water guns, of course!” 

The new addition to the table nods, none the wiser. “It’s getting hotter by the day, maybe we should play it sometime.”

“You? Hang out with us?” Tsuna’s tone is full of disbelief and wonder. Teru has not forgotten those doe-eyed stares his brother used to send Yamamoto’s way up until just a month ago, actually. “Are you sure, Yamamoto-kun?”

Yamamoto nods and smiles brightly; he’d probably do a grand gesture with his hands if he currently wasn’t eating. “Of course! Teru gave me some really good advice; we’re friends now!”

“I’m so proud of you!” Nana coos; Teru shoves more noodles into his mouth and imagines the chair swallowing him whole. “Friends are wonderful to have.”

“It is important to surround yourself with different people and trustworthy individuals.” Reborn intones—always having a life lesson or something else to say. Teru’s sure there has to be a double meaning behind that. 

“See, even the kid thinks I’m trustworthy. Since we’re all friends, you guys can call me Takeshi! How about that?” Sudden, but not surprising. Then again, Teru doesn’t think anyone calls Yamamoto by his given name. He must like them a lot already.

“Don’t get so comfortable.”

Hayato is oddly defensive even in his whispered grumbling. They probably need to talk about that one of these days. Not a dinner table discussion though. 

“Sure,” Teru says around the chopsticks in his mouth, “you use our first names anyway.”

“I do, don’t I? Sorry if it bothered you guys.” Takeshi laughs, not sounding sorry at all.

“There are two of us.” Tsuna reasons. He must be happy—two new friends in such a short time. “It’s fine Yama—Takeshi-kun.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Teru agrees; it isn’t that big of a deal to him at the end of the day. “It all works out in the end.”

Or Reborn will make sure it happens some way or another—them getting along, that is—some part of him realizes. Might as well make it happen on their own terms as much as possible since the tutor is proving himself to be oddly meddlesome. All for Tsuna’s sake though; apparently, so if that’s the case, then Teru really can’t fault him—to a degree, at least.

It is nice to make friends just because they want to be friends rather than someone else having a hand in it; that much Teru can attest to. Tsuna deserves that more than anybody and then some. Let him have his first non-mafia related friend as long as he’s able. It’s a nice thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> teru's red meat allergy was literally the second fact i came up with about him; the first was "tsuna's twin;" he didn't even have a name at that point but i decided to give him a very specific allergy. tsuna being lactose intolerant and absolutely uncaring of the consequences was also planned from the start. 
> 
> also, tsuna does in fact give yams blushy doe-eyed stares in chapter 5 of the manga, and who would i be if i did not point that out?? you are not immune to yamamoto takeshi's charisma and chill vibes.
> 
> also, also, i did a [picrew](https://picrew.me/image_maker/296093) for the [tsuna](https://i.imgur.com/TNyESQV.png) and [teru](https://i.imgur.com/lRetvpf.png) so people can see how they differ and idk visualize teru better. the twins have the same degree of fluffy soft hair, it just acts differently between the two of them & teru actually has blond highlights closer to his roots. 
> 
> anyways, thanks so much for reading!!! please leave a comment if you feel so inclined to do so; i appreciate them all!!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof time sure does fly, but here's a chapter for you guys!!! i think we're in a transition period for this fic, so sorry if things seem slow right now!!! we are steadily chugging along because i really did decide to throw canon to the winds and now i must reap what i sow, but this chapter was a fun labor of love. i'll reread over for any mistakes later!

One would think that with the summer break coming up, and thus the onslaught of inevitable exams quickly barreling down on everyone, that the Namimori Middle’s gossip-filled halls would quiet down. However, it seems as though Teru is putting a bit too much faith in his peers when it comes to prioritizing and minding their own business.

He overhears no less than five different tidbits of conversations all with Tsuna as the epicenter. His brother is a topic practically on everyone’s lips; this time the main point of interest is fueled by the company he’s started to keep in the form of the mysterious transfer student and one second-year baseball star. 

Even Hana, for all her stubbornness and need to know, has lessened her questioning to pointed looks and raised eyebrows before shoving her face back into study guides and old tests to review. Teru expects her to make the top of the class if not their entire grade. Then again, Hayato seems to be able to pull high scores after sitting in on one lesson and taking impressive notes, so Hana might have actual competition this year.

Teru wishes a majority of the people could act the same as his friends and focus on themselves; Tsuna isn’t even privy to what’s going on (or maybe he’s just ignoring it this go around since he’s used to people talking about him in general) because a lot of his spare energy is spent dealing with Reborn and the mafia position on top of everything else. 

At least he doesn’t have to do it alone, not with Teru around and not with Hayato always there either. Takeshi is an unexpected but wholly welcome presence as well, even if he and Hayato tend to go back and forth with each other. Their arguments, though often, are pretty inconsequential and maybe a little silly at times, but it doesn’t take long for Teru to get used to the ebb and flow of their dynamic. 

As it stands, Teru’s main focus (outside of making sure he doesn’t have to sit in on summer remedial classes) is getting people to shut up about his twin for once. He’d enlist Hayato for help if the other didn’t always carry his dynamite around and raise the stakes of property damage and danger. He’s already very nearly gotten in enough trouble to get a strong warning issued, and Teru would like to keep it that way. 

Tsuna can’t seem to do anything without getting scrutinized, be it failing at something or actually having fun and not shrinking away from anyone that looks at him. It’s disheartening and frustrating and something no one should have to deal with, but school has never been kind to Tsuna in general; it wouldn’t change so suddenly now. 

It all comes to a head in the form of Teru getting into a fight with two third years after insisting they keep his brother’s name out of their mouths especially if they’re going to make baseless assumptions about him. Teru hates it and he doesn’t care that the initial confrontation leads into a fight; he’s just glad Tsuna and the others aren’t around, having left as soon as possible to get more studying in while Teru stayed behind to handle cleaning duty.

The physical confrontation was started as soon as one of them dragged Teru forward by his cardigan to growl in his face, and Teru was quick to retaliate with a shove. It caught the two upperclassmen off-guard, probably expecting Tsuna’s twin to be as passive as his brother tends to be at times. The audacity of a second year much smaller than them to be willing to fight back and all the things that go with misplaced pride and whatnot. 

It’s not a clean or fair fight mainly because it’s two on one, but at least Teru gets a few solid hits in. He’s small and quick enough to avoid getting hit himself, but he does end up getting grabbed and caught after one of them decides to trip him. Teru guesses that if he does end up getting his face bruised then he can always detour to Hana’s house and deal with it. He’d rather sit in on her scolding than everyone else’s reactions back at home.

However, it seems as though Teru is a bit lucky today since Hibari Kyouya, of all people, aggressively slams open a door of a classroom close to the commotion. His silver-flint gaze is as sharp as any knife and posture that screams absolutely pissed off. 

The noise and prefect’s sudden appearance is enough to shock the upperclassmen. The one holding Teru stiffens and the other pales practically immediately. Not even the DC, under Hibari, as they are, sparks such an immediate sort of fear in everyone like the appearance of their leader does even more so if it’s sudden and dramatic. 

Teru unceremoniously gets dropped to the ground as the other two make a mad scramble to avoid Hibari’s wrath—not that it helps any. He scoots out of the way and against the wall while Hibari goes on the, admittedly short, hunt without warning or mercy. The boys go down with well-placed and very painful hits, knocked unconscious with a single blow each and scooted to the side with Hibari’s foot as if they are no better than the dirt beneath his shoes. 

Hibari yawns widely and pulls out his phone, either tired or bored. With how annoyed he looked when he first entered the scene, Teru will put his money on the fact that the prefect was probably sleeping, and all the noise woke him up. 

Honestly, Teru’s more than positive that he’s only saved by Hibari’s penchant for violence because they had a somewhat confrontation during Teru’s first year. Hibari, as he put it, asserted his dominance and thus has no reason to waste doing so again even if Teru still gets into the occasional fight on campus; they barely happen nowadays since Teru would rather not worry his mom or Tsuna about it. Kusakabe had said Teru isn’t directly undermining Hibari’s authority and also that Hibari doesn’t even see Teru as a possible threat in any way, shape, or form—or something like that. Teru just nodded along and pretended to understand and acted as if he wasn’t a little insulted.

“Rabbit.” Hibari’s voice is a flat disinterest, and Teru looks to find him still tapping away at his phone. “An ambulance is on the way to pick up the mess.”

“Oh, I don’t need to go with them.” Teru shrugs and does not, for once, politely tell Hibari that his name in no way is Rabbit. Not like the upperclassman will listen, and Teru figures it’s a somewhat upgrade from _herbivore_ as Hibari likes to call most people. “Thanks anyway.”

Deeming it safe enough, he gets up from the floor and tries his best to straighten his cardigan before realizing that wearing it all wrinkled and out of shape might do more harm than good in terms of people’s reactions. He really should head home now; it’s been a tiring day already. 

“I’ve had members of the DC keep an eye on your brother since the Mochida incident.” Hibari cuts in suddenly again. 

Catching Hibari’s attention isn’t a great thing. Teru hopes Reborn doesn’t get wind of this because who knows what’ll happen then. Tsuna can only deal with so much strangeness and his life, and a constant appearance of the prefect would push those boundaries more than they already are being pushed. 

“That’s weird.” Teru blurts out instead and does his best not to flinch back when Hibari turns his gaze onto him. “Why are you doing that?”

“He’s causing an uproar around the school, unexpectedly. Also, there was a reported incident involving him and the transfer student that now follows him around.” Of course, Hibari would learn about that. Small mercy he doesn’t seem upset about it; maybe because it wasn’t directly on school grounds. “Has he gotten any stronger?”

Teru shakes his head, even if it is a lie. The Tsuna that exists now is definitely stronger than the one from just a couple months ago in little ways. Teru’s proud of his brother’s growth, but the last thing he wants to do is key Hibari into a possible fight. Hayato would throw a fit, that’s for sure.

“I could take him in a fight, easy.” They’re siblings; Teru knows all of Tsuna’s weaknesses anyway.

At least that seems to work, and Hibari loses any interest he might have had; good thing he didn’t actually see how the fight with Hayato turned out or it might be impossible to shake him. He walks off without any warning or goodbye, also a common practice, his black jacket fluttering behind him. 

“Weird guy.” Teru sighs and texts Tsuna that he’s finally on his way home.

* * *

The quickly approaching exams are a bit of a blessing in disguise. Reborn’s brand of training lessens enough that the tutor switches focus primarily to academic tutoring sessions than ones that focus on the mafia and its inner workings. With Teru taking a break from gymnastics practice to not fall behind on studies during this time, there’s a bit more in the way of free time. 

After school study sessions are spent in several places, Reborn allows the teens the opportunity to pick where they’d like to spend most of their afternoons. The Sawada household being the main haunt, the boys sprawled around either in the twins’ bedroom or out at the table or in the comfort of the living room. They also spent a couple of hours at one of the local fast-food restaurants with Hayato leading the charge while trying to coach them in mathematics between orders of milkshakes and fries and Reborn’s occasional corrections. Even Takeshi offers his home space to use at one point however, Reborn doesn’t tag along for that one for some reason or another. 

“Are you sure it’s alright for us to come here?” Tsuna asks on the way to Takeshi’s house.

Teru knows this is the first time that his brother has been invited over to a friend’s house or out with a friend in general. No wonder he’s nervous. So many things are changing so quickly for him.

“Wouldn’t have offered if it wasn’t.” Takeshi says brightly, throwing an arm over Tsuna’s shoulder; the action makes Hayato balk and Tsuna squawk. 

“‘sides, we’re almost there. Can’t turn back on me now, right?”

“I-I guess.”

Not that he sounds very convinced, but Takeshi seems to take it because he gives Tsuna a wide smile before letting go to continue leading them. True to his word, they arrive at their destination; the large storefront of TakeSushi quickly comes into view. Takeshi enters the restaurant with little hesitation, and Teru has to give Tsuna a gentle nudge forward before his brother stumble-steps into the restaurant, Hayato bringing up the rear.

“I’m home!” Takeshi calls out, the few patrons and workers scattered in the establishment barely glance at him, probably well and truly used to his presence by now. Some even smile at him.

A man, who has to be Takeshi’s father, pops his head from the back, grinning wide. 

“Welcome home, son!” He calls back, eyes quickly glancing over the menagerie before continuing. “You and your friends head upstairs, alright? I’ll check on you kids soon.”

Once they all slip upstairs, Teru takes in the Yamamoto household as well as he can on the way to Takeshi’s room. It’s large, that’s for sure, and extremely traditional in design with a few modern fixtures in place. It makes sense since they’re near the older Namimori district. No wonder they can manage a restaurant and comfortable living space in one building. A peek out a window shows that the backyard space is just as sprawling but ultimately fitting. Teru wonders if the Yamamotos have a koi pond or something back there. 

“I didn’t know your dad owned TakeSushi.” Teru says once everyone is settled and the work is set up between them on the table in Takeshi’s room.

Takeshi smiles, looking proud. “Yeah, he started it when I was pretty young, but it’s been doing well.”

Tsuna, already making a face at their work, cuts in. “Is that why it’s called TakeSushi?”

Takeshi seems flustered by that, turning his grin crooked. “Maa, I guess. Kind of embarrassing when you put it like that.”

“Nah, it’s cute.” Teru shakes his head and wonders what grade he needs to make in science to not take summer classes for that. Hayato would know. “Right, Tsuna?”

“Mhm.” Tsuna nods, lifting Teru’s arm to peek at his paper. Reborn isn’t here to scold anyone for cheating, but Teru hasn’t done what Tsuna’s looking for anyway. “Wish my dad named a restaurant after me, then that’d be easier to deal with.” 

“Oh, are you talking about the mafia game you guys have been playing?”

Hayato groans, loudly. He’s already on the second page of the study guide from what Teru can see. “It’s not a game, idiot.”

And there they go; Teru is getting good at blocking their arguments, especially this one. He doesn’t know how much Reborn has told Takeshi about the whole Vongola mess or if Takeshi just picked up on how Reborn doesn’t hide the fact that he’s a hitman and thus mafia affiliated, but it’s definitely been enough for him to just casually accept any weirdness around the twins and even offer to join in when he doesn’t have practice.

Things will probably pick up once summer break hits, and Teru isn’t looking forward to it. 

At least they quiet down when Teru reminds them that they actually have things to do by redirecting Hayato’s attention to Tsuna who is already stressing over the problems. Hayato once again takes the reins of the session, sometimes dipping into stuff that sounds more high school or college level than what a middle schooler should know. Well, he does make his own explosives and that means he has to know a lot just to do that. No wonder he keeps making A’s in classes.

Tsuyoshi pops in soon after as well, citing something about wanting to check up on them before the dinner rush hits. He tells the twins and Hayato that he’ll have some sushi for them ready to take home by the time they leave. Extremely sweet of him to offer and reminds Teru vaguely of Nana’s habit of feeding whoever walks through her door.

In the short few minutes that Teru sees how the Yamamotos interact, Teru knows that Tsuyoshi is a good dad—has to be, with a son as nice as Takeshi. It makes Teru wonder what people see when looking at the twins directly interacting with their mom. Do they see a mother with a supposed failure of a son and an average other one or can they see how much they all care for and love each other?

Teru deeply hopes it’s the latter. 

* * *

Finals come and go. Teru, very thankfully, doesn’t have to take summer courses. Tsuna and Takeshi on the other hand will be dealing with them for the entirety of break. Takeshi isn’t surprised, and Tsuna is only a little disappointed because that means Reborn is not going to let up on bookwork. Apparently, the hitman knew Tsuna passing any subject was slim given how abysmal his grades were when they first started tutoring, but there has been a definite improvement and that in and of itself is worth celebrating.

So, while Takeshi and Tsuna—with Reborn as a tagalong to see what’s being covered—deal with remedial classes, it leaves Hayato and Teru at home alone for the most part. Hayato can be calm even without Tsuna around, though it probably helped that Teru shoved a handheld game into the other boy’s hand and told him to focus on that when he got too antsy about Tsuna not being in the immediate vicinity. 

**Kyoko:** kitten time!!!! (=ↀωↀ=)✧

Kyoko’s text comes in while Teru is sprawled across the back porch, trying to catch a stray summer breeze and playing a new game on his phone. Hayato is in a similar state, but on the floor of the living room; the tinny boss music can be easily heard since the door is open.

 **Teru:** are they good?  
 **Kyoko:** yep!!!!  
 **Kyoko:** they’re all fine from their shots a few days ago  
 **Kyoko:** we need to start socializing them with other people since they’re old enough  
 **Kyoko:** come over!!! we can have lunch and pet kitties!!!  
 **Teru:** can i bring hayato over???  
 **Teru:** tsu and takeshi are busy so he’ll probably get bored by himself  
 **Kyoko:** of course!!! i’ll just let auntie know to expect someone else  
 **Kyoko:** hana can’t make it anyway

Teru shoves himself up, grimacing a little at the sound of his skin unsticking from the wood. He shoves his discarded headband back on his head to keep his hair out of his face and steps back into the house, closing the door behind him.

“Do you wanna go out?” Teru asks, poking Hayato’s leg softly with his foot. 

The question causes him to spring up immediately, nearly dropping the console as he goes. He looks expectant and excited already.

“Of course!” He practically shouts, no questions asked. “Where do you need me to go?”

“ _We_ ,” Teru makes sure to stress the start of the sentence before continuing. “were invited to Kyoko’s house for lunch and to play with kittens. You like cats, yeah?” Though Teru is 100% sure he already knows the answer to that one.

“I love cats! It would be an absolute honor to accompany you.”

“Cool, cool. Grab what you need, and we can leave. Kyoko doesn’t live that close.”

It takes about ten minutes to get out of the house. Hayato runs upstairs to grab his own things, and Teru does as well on top of the fact that he has to let Nana know they’re stepping out and also grab bottles of water for the both of them before leaving. 

Barely ten minutes into their walk, Hayato lights a cigarette. Teru has learned that Hayato doesn’t actually smoke as much as he thought he would and usually tends to do it well away from the house. He probably doesn’t want Nana to know, which is fair. 

“Isn’t it too hot for that?”

Hayato hums, registering the question. He exhales away from Teru and shrugs. “Kind of but it’s fine. Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve smoked during hotter months.”

“Why smoking though? Isn’t that dangerous since you’re highly flammable?” Teru pauses, before adding. “More so than a normal person anyway.”

Hayato, surprisingly, or maybe not so—he’s always been willing to answer questions Tsuna and Teru may have—is quick to give his reply. “More reliable than a lighter since I can keep them burning longer. I make the wicks a bit more flammable than standard ones to speed up the ignition time.” He stops explaining, a complicated look on his face heightened by the sudden blush on his pale cheeks. “Plus...don’t laugh, okay?”

Teru blinks, confused, and shrugs.“Uhm, okay?”

“Makes me look...older.”

Hayato practically whispers the last word and takes another drag from his cigarette. He’s definitely embarrassed by the admission; Teru can see why that might be the case, but still. 

“Older?”

“Needed to be taken seriously back in Italy.” Hayato sighs, running a free hand through his hair. A few strands stick directly to his face given how hot it is. “Kids can’t do much out there by themselves, so anything that can boost them is a good thing.”

That makes a lot of sense even though thinking about it makes Teru upset. Hayato’s only thirteen; he shouldn’t feel the need to look and act older just for respect, just to make a living out in the world. 

But, he tamps down those feelings just in case Hayato misinterprets and thinks they’re directed at him. He’s oddly perceptive of others’ moods and is always quick to change his tune depending on who it is and what he’s reacting to. 

“Is that why…?” Teru asks instead, gesturing to Hayato himself. He doesn’t want to directly call out the boy’s fashion choice. It’s not bad, just interesting. 

“Yeah, plus I just like it.” He sounds a little proud when he says it. “Took me a couple of years to settle on the style but it works.”

“It does.” Plus, Hayato is very committed to the aesthetic of it all; even today when he doesn’t have nearly as many bracelets or rings on and has even forgone a necklace. “How long were you in the mafia. I mean, you’re still probably in it but, you know?”

Teru feels as though he knows the answer, like he should know the answer. What Hayato says next doesn’t necessarily surprise him, not as much as it probably should have if he heard it for the first time. 

“I was born in it.” Hayato starts, easy and conversational as if it’s the most normal thing in the world. For him, it probably is. “Changed my name and ran from home when I was eight though. Had a sort of mentor but that’s really pushing it for the bastard, honestly. Stayed solo for the most part. Got myself an epithet and now I’m here.”

“Now you’re here. For what it’s worth, I’m glad you are.”

That catches Hayato off guard; he flushes and nearly stumbles mid-stride. “Oh, no. That’s not.” He pauses, waving a hand around uselessly and settles on a shrug. “I’m not doing much.”

“Shut up and listen.” Teru says, not unkindly, gently knocking his shoulder against Hayato’s own so he’s paying attention. “Tsuna doesn’t know anything about the mafia, okay? Outside of what Reborn’s taught him. I don’t either. The tutoring is helpful but we’ve barely scratched the surface. We have to jump feet first into a world we know nothing about and be expected to lead it, Tsuna is anyway.”

Teru still personally doesn’t know where he specifically falls in this whole mafia thing, and not knowing is getting old. Reborn’s grace period is almost up however, he will gladly ask about it as soon as he’s able. That doesn’t guarantee that even when he does know about what’s expected of him that it’ll make things easier. The mafia is an entirely different and admittedly terrifying beast, especially when throwing the magic fire into the mix. 

“You, on the other hand, know all about it,” Teru continues, feeling the need to drive the point home. “and are more willing to give a straight answer about some things than Reborn and my dad. You think they wouldn’t beat around the bush and play so many games, but I guess not.” 

However, Teru has to admit that Reborn is getting better than when he first showed up, probably having to do with needing to change the entire initial approach. Teru still doesn’t know what’s wrong with Iemitsu and why he still insists on radio silence; it makes him bitter and annoyed. 

“Your dad’s the Young Lion, right?”

“I...I guess?” The name’s definitely familiar, but Teru doesn’t think he’s heard it before. Maybe Reborn briefly mentioned it during lessons about the Vongola. They’re onto the family structure, after all. “I didn’t know he had a nickname.”

Hayato doesn’t answer immediately, getting rid of his finished cigarette in a garbage ashtray they pass by. He shoves his hands into his pockets before starting, “He’s pretty infamous or famous depending on what circles you talk to, but his job is pretty high on the ladder in terms of secrecy. Makes some sense that he’s tight-lipped about stuff, but I still can’t believe you two grew up as civilians. It seems counterintuitive on his part.” Hayato seems to catch himself, immediately looking apologetic and a little frantic. “But what do I know, forgive me. He isn’t my father.”

“Nah, it’s fine.” Teru insists, shrugging. Hayato isn’t wrong, that’s for sure. “You’ve probably heard more about him than I have in my entire life, honestly.” The admission stings just a bit, but it’s not something either of them can help. 

Teru heaves a sigh.“Dads.”

“Yeah, dads. Don’t have a great track record with them either.” Hayato agrees, before adding. “Nana-sama is nice.”

“You know she doesn’t want you to be so formal right? You’re practically family.”

Hayato gets that shell shocked look on his face, the same one he gets when any of the Sawadas are genuinely nice to him.“Family?”

“Yeah, family.” Teru nods and smiles. “Wait until you meet Chiyo-obaasan. She’ll love you. We usually visit her in the summer, too.”

“I don’t think-”

“Hush, Hayato.” Teru cuts him off, gently patting his arm. “Just accept it, okay?

Hayato flushes, again, and gives a jerky nod; Teru very nicely doesn’t tease him about it like he would Tsuna. Hayato is shy about the simplest things at times; he might combust. It’s a work in progress.

* * *

Kyoko opens the door when the boys get there, a grey and black kitten held in her arms and a wide smile on her face. 

“Teru-kun! Gokudera-san! It’s nice to see you both.” She greets happily, stepping out of the way to let them in. 

“Hey, Sasagawa-san.” Hayato huffs, more embarrassed than anything, probably. He only sticks to Teru and Tsuna, after all. “Thank you for letting me come over.”

Kyoko’s smile gets brighter by some strange magic or something. “It’s no problem! I’m happy to see you two! Auntie is still fixing up lunch, so it might take a while. She likes to go a bit overboard because of onii-san.”

“That’s fine.” Teru slips out of his shoes and into a pair of spare slippers. It’s been a while since he’s been to the Sasagawa household, but it still looks the same. “Where are the babies?”

“Living room.” Kyoko practically sings, depositing the purring kitten into Teru’s hands, before walking off. 

Teru is internally warmed by the touchstone of purring warmth in his arms, turning and showing the kitten off to Hayato. At the sight, his face immediately becomes soft and unguarded in a way that it rarely gets; Teru hands the kitten over for him to hold instead. 

True to Kyoko’s words, five other kittens are wandering around the closed-off area of the living room. Sitting down in the space immediately means the teens are quickly bombarded by curious paws and chirpy mews. The mother, a cat Teru knows to be named Momo, spreads herself across Kyoko’s lap and quickly goes back to sleep, seemingly okay with the people around. 

“How are you liking Namimori so far, Gokudera-san?” Kyoko asks.

Hayato is hesitant in his answer, probably not expecting to be asked anything. He found a cat toy to start waving around to keep some of the kittens occupied. “It’s fine. Haven’t been here long though, so it’s hard to say.”

Kyoko nods and then goes into all the nice places she enjoys visiting—mainly stores and restaurants and cafes that she’s heard have a good selection of coffee, hole-in-the-wall places that are mostly known by people who have lived in the city long enough. She also asks a few questions about Italy, pleased with Hayato’s answers even if some of them are obviously not answered in full and somewhat avoided.

Apparently, he’s specifically from Florence but traveled around Italy for family reasons, which Teru infers as mafia-related reasons. He also says that he chose to move to Japan because he’s a quarter Japanese himself and wanted to feel closer to that part of his heritage which Teru figures probably isn’t a neat lie to keep Kyoko and everyone else who asks that question, from pushing too much.

“You know,” Teru starts once their conversation has petered off. “Mama might let you get a kitten if you asked, Hayato.”

“Would you like one!” Kyoko picks up, sounding hopeful. “They’re too young to adopt now, but the sooner we get them adopted the better. I’d feel a lot better knowing they’re going to someone I know.”

The sudden double-team and direct shift catches Hayato off guard. He shakes his head and does not let up on running his hand across the back of the same kitten that Kyoko handed over when they arrived. 

“I couldn’t. I don’t even have my own place.”

“You probably could.” Teru hums. “Tsuna and I aren’t interested in keeping pets, but mama probably wouldn’t mind, especially now that we’re older.”

“Sawada-obasan is very sweet,” Kyoko adds. “and cats are pretty self-sufficient once they’re comfortable. Talk to her about it. You have a few more weeks anyway, right?”

Hayato seems to relent and nods though it isn’t a promise to do anything. If anyone can take care of a pet then it’s definitely Hayato, plus Reborn has Leon, and Nana hasn’t said anything about that, so there’s hope. A cat might be a nice companion for him to have. 

A few minutes later, Kyoko’s aunt pokes her head into the room and lets them know that lunch is finally ready. Sasagawa Mayu is a woman that looks more like her nephew than her niece, with ash blonde hair and a taller than average height. From what Teru knows, she’s a retired kickboxer that teaches lessons to elementary and middle school kids and is one of the reasons Ryohei took up boxing. She playfully comments on Teru’s height the same way she always does when she sees him and compliments Hayato’s hair color before doling out a lunch of tempura donburi.

Over the meal, the kids end up talking primarily about school and how the tests went. Hayato, of course, found them to be easy; Teru just barely made the passing science grade; and Kyoko found history to be her most challenging subject even with Teru’s help throughout the semester. It’s nice, definitely different from meals at home, but Teru doesn’t mind, and he’s glad that even Hayato pipes in on occasion; it’s always hard to predict how he’ll react to some people, but he must deem Kyoko pretty okay to keep talking to her. 

Lunch ends and Kyoko offers to take some leftovers to Ryohei who will more than likely be doing things with the boxing club after he finishes up summer classes for the day. The boys end up leaving with her, walking her part of the way to the school, and splitting off when they have to. Before they part, Kyoko insists that Teru bring Tsuna next time if he's able and Takeshi as well since of course she caught onto him hanging out with a new set of people lately. 

Teru makes no promises, sensing some form of possible meddling out of her, but knowing that there’s the inevitability of them all hanging out at some point. Not that Teru minds; it could be good fun, especially during the break. It’s something to possibly look forward to. 

* * *

The first week of summer vacation ends strangely with Nana coming into the twins’ room to tell boys that Iemitsu wishes to speak to them. Teru knows his dad now calls with a bit more frequency, probably at the behest of Nana herself, but the adults usually keep the conversation to themselves. Teru doesn't know what they talk about, but he finds himself not particularly interested in figuring it out. It probably has something to do with the pile of secrets his dad has kept over the years, so he doesn't think to stick his nose that far into his parents’ business.

Tsuna is the first to receive the phone; Teru pauses their two-player game when his brother walks out the room with the phone cradled against his ear and his perplexed voice fading as he walks to a different part of the house.

"Do you know what that's about?" Teru turns and asks Reborn once it’s just the two of them.

The hitman doesn't look up from where he's going over papers. The boys just got done with a brief refresher on Italian and had to take a quiz to see how well they're grasping the language. From what Teru can tell, Tsuna’s picking up on it the quickest out of both of them which he cites to being around Hayato more and thus getting extra help whenever he thinks to ask.

"I wouldn't know," Reborn answers simply. "I'm not your father's keeper despite knowing him for years now. Is it really a surprise to know he wants to talk to you two?"

"Yeah," Maybe Teru should feel something about the lack of hesitation in his answer; as it stands, he only feels resigned. "He’s never even had time to call for birthdays. We always called him for his even if he didn't answer most of the time.”

It feels strange that the man wants to call and chat now, but Teru figures it has something to do with the fact that boys are now involved in the mafia and the entire Vongola ordeal. Teru lets the subject with Reborn drop and lays down on the floor, eyes trained on the ceiling. It doesn’t take that long before Tsuna comes back, the confused look still on his face, and Nana’s phone held out in front of Teru in a silent offering. 

He grabs the phone before standing up, stumbling a little as he regains his balance. Teru ruffles a hand against Tsuna’s fluffy head of hair as he passes and exits the room, closing the door behind him, and setting off down the hall. 

There are noises he can’t discern in the background which is a little concerning. Teru doesn’t speak until he’s out on the back porch with the door closed behind him. “Hello?”

“There you are!” Iemitsu’s voice is loud and jovial and slightly distorted. “How’s my little Teru-bear?”

“I’m thirteen.” Teru sighs, deciding to lay down while taking this call. “You don’t have to call me that.”

“You wound your papa! You and your brother both, you know?” Iemitsu mirrors the sigh with a touch more exaggeration. “He got upset when I called him Tsuna-fish too.”

“It is a little embarrassing.”

“I guess. My cute kids deserve cute nicknames though.”

“Yeah, okay.” Teru rolls his eyes, glad that his dad can’t see him do it. “Uhm, why are you calling?”

“I’ve been calling your mother more lately, so I figured it’d be nice to talk to you boys. Reborn sends me the occasional progress report, but it’s nice to hear it straight from the two of you, yeah?”

Okay, that makes sense even if Teru doesn’t know how to feel about it. Nana gets updates on the boys’ academics, and he doesn’t mind it. Then again, mom is the only stable adult they have; of course, she’ll want to know what’s going on. Iemitsu’s in Italy; his sudden interest in their life now that he basically has no choice but to be, stings something fierce now that he thinks about it. 

“Sure, so if I ask you about mafia stuff this time, you’ll actually answer?”

“Depends on what you ask. Your papa can’t give away all his secrets. I still have to look mysterious and cool for my family, don’t you think?”

“Is that what you did for mom?” Teru can’t help but ask, little input from his brain when he says those words. He knows he just kissed all the chances of a semi-normal conversation goodbye. “All of this to look cool and mysterious?”

Iemitsu sighs again, this time sounding a lot more serious than he has been for the past few minutes. “That’s something I want to talk to you about. I said this to Tsuna, so you have to hear it too. You shouldn’t have told Nana about the mafia. You should be more careful about who you tell in general. Teru this is dangerous business, and you need to be more responsible.”

Teru feels a hot and immediate flash of indignation at being scolded as if he’s some misbehaving child and frustrated that his dad is lecturing him about this sort of thing as if Iemitsu hasn’t been gone since the twins were eight. Teru sits up so quickly he nearly falls forward, but quick reflexes save him. 

“She deserved to know.” Teru tries to keep his voice steady despite his mounting frustration. Always quick to anger, he’s been told. “You’re in the mafia. You want Tsuna as the next boss, and I’m involved by default. That’s her entire family.”

“She was happier before knowing.” Iemitsu says, sounding as though he’s barely considering Teru’s words. Well, the boys had to get their stubbornness from somewhere. “It’s sweet that you want to involve her. You’re a good kid, but you’re a kid. You made things more difficult.”

The words hurt in a way that makes Teru more frustrated, the fact that someone hardly involved in his life at this point can get such a rise out of him with barely a few sentences. Must be a dad thing or a parent thing in general. 

Teru shakes his head to clear the ringing in his ears before starting again. “I made—”

“Teru. Listen to me for a moment, please.” The tone of voice Iemitsu uses is firm and brooks no argument. Teru listens despite how much he doesn’t want to. “I’m not mad at you, either of you. You’re both so young, and I understand that. We can’t do anything about it now, but you have to be more mindful in the future. You don’t want to put anyone in danger do you?”

There is so much he can say to that, so much he wants to say to that. How is wanting anyone to know things putting them in more danger than them not knowing? How is not wanting to lie suddenly seen as selfish especially when it’s his mom he doesn’t want to lie to? But Teru gets a feeling that whatever he says will just get batted to the side and turned around. Iemitsu seems keen on giving a life lesson rather than listening. 

“No, I don’t.” Teru answers, sighing through his nose. 

“See, I thought so.” He sounds pleased. His tone of voice switches to the same lightheartedness it was at the start of the conversation. “Mistakes happen all the time, and what’s important is that you learn from them. Now, if you need any help Reborn is there for a reason, and this number is part of a secure line so you can call it whenever.”

As if. Teru rolls his eyes again and doesn’t say anything about Iemitsu’s terrible track record of not being there when anyone actually needs him. They don’t need another almost fight so soon. 

“Sure okay.”

“Good, I—hold on a second.” There’s a sound of a hushed and rushed conversation away from the phone before he continues. “Something came up that I have to take care of, so I have to go. Tell Nana and Tsuna-fish that I love them, won’t you?”

Not surprising. Teru gets up to head back into the house. He wants to end this call sooner rather than later now. “Sure.”

“Teru-bear, I love you too, okay?”

That’s the thing, isn’t it? That Iemitsu really does love them all but still lies regardless—that lying just happens to be the way he shows it for some reason or another. What a mess this entire thing is. 

“Yeah.” Teru sighs again and rubs at his face, feeling older than his thirteen years. “Okay. Bye.” 

He hangs up. The outdoor silence he’s suddenly left in is a deafening thing. 

* * *

“So, what did dad talk to you about?” Teru asks later that night.

The twins have taken over the living room, wanting to continue their video game marathon but not wanting to evoke the wrath of a sleeping Reborn. Maybe it would be smarter for the boys to go to bed on time given that nothing will change in their schedule, but they can’t resist the appeal of staying up late to play games during the break. It seems as though Hayato is the only one with enough sense in that department. 

Tsuna doesn’t answer automatically, fidgeting a bit first before settling on pausing the game mid-race and setting the controller down. The lights on the television they dragged downstairs paint his face in a kaleidoscope of different colors.

“Oh, uhm, he said he was proud of me.” He finally answers, sounding a little unsure of himself for some reason.

“Really? That’s good.” Teru responds, setting his controller down and hugging his pillow tighter against his chest. He nudges Tsuna with a foot against his brother’s folded legs until he gets faced. “You don’t look too happy about it though.”

Tsuna shrugs, hands gripping his ankles. “I’m not sure how I should feel about it since I don’t remember the last time he told me that.”

 _What a mess,_ Teru thinks but doesn’t say. Instead, he makes an inquisitive noise, enough to prompt his brother into continuing. Something is obviously weighing on him, more so than usual.

“He said he was proud of me for being a man and taking to the mafia stuff so well.” Tsuna’s brows are furrowed and the frown on his face looks close to a pout. “But that was after he told me to be more careful about who we tell about the Vongola. Like I don’t know that. He wasn’t happy that we told mom, you know?”

Teru nods, understanding. “Yeah, gave me an earful for that—doesn’t matter.” He waves that conversation topic away with a hand, not wanting to divulge how his conversation with Iemitsu went. “You got mixed feelings about him saying he’s proud of you?”

“I don’t even want to be a mafia boss, Teru.” Tsuna says immediately, voice pitched a bit louder as it always does when he gets stressed. He is quiet enough, considering how late it is, however. “But nobody’s listening, no one wants to listen. Dad and Reborn especially. It just feels weird for being praised for something I didn’t get a choice in. It feels like I’m cheating somehow.”

“You aren’t cheating.” Teru wants to nip that in the bud right now; his reply comes out quickly and with no hesitation. He doesn’t want Tsuna to ever think his improvements aren’t enough or real or whatever else he might be thinking right now. “You’re genuinely working hard and getting better and improving so, so quickly. It’s shitty that dad is choosing now to just say all this stuff, but that doesn’t make what you’ve done so far any less important.”

Tsuna sighs, not looking too convinced. “Maybe, but if it wasn’t for this whole mafia thing happening, I’d still be the same No Good person and dad wouldn’t bother with me or any of us, probably.”

Now, Teru regrets putting a cap on his anger when talking to Iemitsu. The man deserves a good rundown of all the issues his absence and sudden reappearance in their lives have caused. It’s hard to be grateful for the attention when all it does is leave doubt and all sorts of negative emotions behind especially when he isn’t around to clean up the effects of his negligence.

But, Teru keeps a cap on his anger right now for Tsuna’s sake. One of them has to be a bit calmer.

“Dad’s involvement and lack of involvement in the family has nothing to do with you, Tsu.” Teru keeps his voice firm so no further doubt can seep through. “He’s a grown man; don’t blame yourself for his decisions.”

It takes a few seconds for Tsuna to give any sort of response, but it ends up being an exhaled huff of almost laughter. “You sound old when you say stuff like that.”

Teru will take it. He grins and fills his tone with mock offense. “Hey, I give pretty good advice, and I give the best advice to you. Do you know why?”

“No.” Tsuna stretches the word, sounding a little wary.

“Because you’re my brother and I love you and think you deserve the best.”

“You’re so sappy.” Tsuna practically whines. “How are you so sappy?”

“I get it from mama. I thought you knew that, Tsu-kun.” Teru shrugs, reaching to muse his brother’s hair.

Tsuna squawks, immediately batting the hand away, or at least tries to. “You’re both so embarrassing!”

“Don’t be mean!” Teru lets out his own whine. “We just love you and are proud of you.”

Tsuna relents, face flushed and hair messier than normal. He gives his brother a halfhearted glare that only gets a grin in return.“You say that once a week. Don’t you ever get tired of repeating yourself?”

“Nope!” How could he? “You’re just gonna have to deal with it forever.”

Or until Tsuna realizes that he’s worthy of every piece of praise and compliment and congratulation that he receives. Until Tsuna realizes that no matter what, he will always be enough. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what's with adults in khr keeping so many secrets from these kids. so many things could have been avoided if they just talked but oh well!!!!
> 
> that's a wrap!!! thanks so much for reading and please leave a comment if you have the time to do so!!! i really enjoy seeing what you guys have to say! also if you have something super specific about this fic (or any of my others) i jazz hands to my baby [tumblr](https://petalfics.tumblr.com/)


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